The following is a Tribune-Herald recap of various announcements and alerts issued Tuesday regarding Hawaii Island’s recovery in the aftermath of Hurricane Lala.

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Power
restoration

As of Tuesday afternoon, Hawaiian Electric Co. crews continued work to restore power to about 24,400 customers on Hawaii Island who were still without power in the wake of Lala.

Utility workers have “made significant progress,” the company said Tuesday in a statement.

However, power to parts of Puna, North and South Kohala, Na‘alehu, Punalu‘u and Volcano could take two weeks to restore.

“This is critical work to reconnect power generation to the island grids, but transmission lines often cross through remote areas, making access and repairs challenging,” HECO officials said in a statement.

A helicopter and drones were being used Tuesday on Hawaii Island for ongoing damage assessments in remote areas.

Damage assessments found “extensive damage to poles on lines” serving North and South Kohala.

Access to upper Puna is blocked by vegetation in and around Hawaiian Electric lines, and tree trimmers have been called in to remove vegetation strewn about by the storm.

Eleven of the 21 transmission or subtransmission lines have been repaired on Hawaii Island.

“Hawaiian Electric thanks everyone for their continued patience and acknowledges the challenges of being without power for extended periods,” read the statement.

The restoration process “emphasizes safety and essential community services,” and prioritizes areas that serve “emergency facilities and the greatest number of customers first.”

HECO said workers need to address accessibility issues, like downed trees that need to be cut and cleared.

“Whenever it’s possible to safely do some of these steps in parallel, we will do so. Even if you don’t see us in your neighborhood, rest assured that we are working to restore power as quickly as possible,” the company assured this morning in a statement.

Customers can call HECO’s Hawaii Island Trouble Line to report any downed power lines, which should always be treated as energized and dangerous: 1-855-304-9191.

Property tax
deadline

Due to the continued effects of Lala, Mayor Kimo Alameda announced Tuesday that real property taxes originally due on Thursday may be paid up to Oct. 13 with no penalty and interest.

In addition, the agricultural, native forest and historical residential dedication applications — plus solar water heater and private road tax credit applications/information — may also be filed by Oct. 13.

Highways
and roads

State Department of Transportation on Tuesday said crews continue to work around the clock to address Lala’s impact to state roadways caused by flooding, landslides, fallen trees, downed utility lines and debris.

DOT is working to restore critical access for Ka‘u residents along Mamalahoa Highway (Route 11).

Access for first responders and residents is now available through this area, except for a section fronting Ka‘u Hospital in Pahala.

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A portion of the highway was washed out between mile markers 49.3 and 49.4 in Pahala, with a section of the roadway gone.

Crews went to assess damage, and the bridge structure is intact.

Cleanup work is still required between Ka‘u Hospital and the Na‘alehu Cemetery, from mile marker 50.5 to 65.8.

Both areas can be bypassed using a combination of state, county and private roads.

2 schools
still closed

Na‘alehu Elementary School and Ka‘u High and Pahala Elementary School will stay closed through Thursday as assessments by the state Department of Education continue.

“Seeing firsthand the impacts on our schools and communities underscored the challenges many families are facing, particularly in areas affected by road conditions and extended power and communication outages,” said Superintendent Keith Hayashi, who on Monday visited schools in the Kea‘au, Pahala and Na‘alehu.

DOE staff returning to school on Tuesday staff reported 175 incidents of damage on Hawaii Island, ranging from downed trees and damaged roofs to water intrusion, electrical issues and other facility impacts.

SNAP benefits

The state Department of Human Services has announced a plan for the replacement of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits following severe weather, flooding and power outages associated with Hurricane Lala.

This assistance is for current SNAP recipients who experienced food loss due to household misfortune, such as extended power outages (over four hours or longer) or flooding.

SNAP replacement benefits allow eligible households to be reimbursed for food, purchased with SNAP benefits, that was destroyed. The replacement amount will be based on the value of food lost, not to exceed the total monthly SNAP benefit issued to the household.

DHS is currently accepting applications for SNAP replacement benefits from SNAP households statewide.

To qualify, SNAP recipients must submit a signed, written statement reporting the food loss within 10 days of the incident. The statement must include:

— The name of the SNAP participant;

— Date of food loss (please provide a specific date, not a range);

— Estimated value of food lost (please provide a specific dollar amount, not a range);

— A description of what occurred and when;

— Contact information for the participant.

A sample written statement is available here — tinyurl.com/329esvvu — but recipients may submit their own written statement and are not required to use the sample form.

Written statements may be submitted to any DHS Processing Center statewide. Once received, submissions will be reviewed and validated.

Approved applicants will receive replacement benefits following the review process.

For more information, participants are encouraged to visit the DHS website at humanservices.hawaii.gov/ or call the Statewide Public Assistance Information Line at 1-855-643-1643.

Property
damage

Submit a damage report on the Civil Defense website or by calling Civil Defense at 935-0031.

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