(BIVN) – Thousands lost power in the areas of North and South Kohala on Wednesday, and the Hawaiian Electric company says the outage was not a Public Safety Power Shutoff, or PSPS, due to the Red Flag Warning for the region.
About 2,900 customers in Waimea, Kawaihae, and the Kohala Ranch area lost power at 4:21 p.m. on December 11 due to a fault on the transmission line that serves the area, the utility reported. As of 9 p.m. Wednesday night, crews were working to restore power.
There is a Red Flag Warning due to an increased risk of fire weather in the Kohala area of Hawaiʻi island, and earlier in the day Hawaiian Electric said it may “proactively shut off power in communities with high exposure to wildfire risk”, if needed to protect public safety.
“Power was restored in Waimea at 7:23 p.m.,” Hawaiian Electric reported. “Power to customers on Kawaihae Road between the mile marker 59-61 as well as from Kohala View Estates to Anekona Estates was restored at 7:47 p.m.”
“About 950 customers from the Ouli Housing area in Kawaihae to the Kohala Ranch area are advised to plan for an overnight outage,” the utility wrote in a news release. “In addition to repairs, the company’s wildfire safety protocols in these high wildfire risk areas require visual safety inspections before the line can be reenergized.”
