WAINIHA, Kauai — As many Kauai residents begin to return to a sense of normalcy following Hurricane Lowell, those who live in one of the island’s most isolated communities continue to drive underneath trees suspended from power lines.

Read more Local sports briefs: 10 Hilo wahine to paddle 41 miles across ocean

Power has been restored for more than 91% of the island, with 3,329 customers left without the ability to turn on their lights as of Wednesday evening. The Kauai Island Utility Cooperative restored power for most of Princeville and parts of Hanalei on Tuesday night, while line crews worked in Hanalei, Kilauea and other areas between Moloaa and Hanalei.

Around 2,000 customers from Moloaa to Hanalei remain without power, 500 in Wainiha and Haena, and 100 in Kokee, while 500 additional customers are without power in pockets from Anahola to Kekaha.

Damage to transmission lines that feed Wainiha and Haena was extensive, especially along Wainiha Powerhouse Road, where several poles were snapped and fallen albizia trees hung by power lines above the road. Power lines were tangled in guardrails, and residents used posts and ladders to move the lines out of the way to enable cars to pass through.

Underneath a brick-red house, the Salvation Army unloaded buckets of cleaning supplies while a group of volunteers — the “east-side aunties” — were scooping rice, pork stew and pasta salad into lunch containers while others packed hot dogs and chips into boxes.

They were working the lunch rush shift. Every day since the storm, Pelika Andrade, founder of nonprofit Na Maka Onaona, has been creating recipes with donated ingredients and leading chefs to cook 400 lunches and 400 dinners for residents.

Kauai County Council member Felicia Cowden was among the volunteers scooping pasta salad into lunchboxes. While she said the recovery from Lowell islandwide has been amazing, she said Powerhouse Road and Ala Eke Road — the two roads on either side of Wainiha River — had urgent needs for repairs.

“I don’t know how they’re going to make it through if we have another big rain,” she said. “The power lines are pretty dangerous.”

The entire state is under a flood watch as remnants of Tropical Storm Norbert bring rainfall to the islands beginning today. The bands are expected to bring moderate to locally heavy showers through Friday. Flood-prone areas, like the North Shore of Kauai, have risk of overflowing streams, elevated runoff and flash flooding.

On Wednesday, Kauai Resilience Team coordinator Megan Wong drove up Powerhouse Road with a Kawasaki Mule utility vehicle, dodging power lines and creeping under trees.

“You need food?” she called out repeatedly.

Kupuna and families, exhausted from clearing debris and cleaning their homes, graciously accepted the meals, thankful to eat something warm and fresh as pockets of rain began to pour down.

At one house, Wong arrived just as Edwin Smith was about to make a pilgrimage to Home Depot to try to buy a generator. The one he owned had broken just moments earlier, he said, and it was like fate had brought Wong to him at the exact right moment.

The Kauai Resilience Team and Wainiha Country Store have been collecting donations of food, cleaning supplies, fuel and generators — all necessities for the isolated community. Wong is working to find a few more Mules to help volunteers bring resources to residents who live in inaccessible areas.

Her daughter, Honey Chandler, said Wednesday that the team still had around 100 homes left to assess for damage. She’s been organizing volunteer labor for homes impacted by Lowell while also balancing taking care of her 15-month-old daughter.

Wednesday was the first time Pat Coon, who works for Project Vision Hawaii, had visited Wainiha and Haena since she began responding to the storm.

“I had no idea how bad it was up here; they need help,” she said. “We have better access on the west side, south shore and east side. These guys don’t. They’re completely isolated.”

Coon said she was “blown out of the water” when she saw the state of Powerhouse and Ala Eke roads. She said she was surprised to not see any road crews in the area yet.

“They’re being ignored, that’s what really gets me.” she said. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

Both the Hawaii Department of Transportation and Kauai County Mayor Derek Kawakami said the compromised double bridge over the Wainiha River was the main reason equipment had not been sent out yet.

Read more U.S., Hawaii flags at half-staff for Ariyoshi

The bridge can currently only withstand 5 tons of weight, which limits the type of equipment agencies can transport.

HDOT spokesperson Russell Pang told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that construction of a temporary abutment is expected to be completed by Monday, which will restore the bridge’s ability to support up to 15 tons.

But starting today, he said, HDOT is working with the county to transport some of its clearing equipment and crews across the bridge to begin clearing Wainiha Powerhouse Road. The agency is also transporting a wood chipper to the area.

KIUC said it’s planning repairs for the area and that helicopter assistance will be required. It noted that “significant work” on clearing debris, opening access ways and managing vegetation still needed to be done.

“The North Shore is always tricky to manage, especially after disasters,” Kawakami said. “Every time it rains, it pours.”

Kawakami said he was proud of how the community members and nonprofits in the area were self-sufficient so quickly in a crisis, and recognized that government often cannot move as fast as what is needed.

“They are independent in and of itself of any government support,” he said. “We’re going to try our best — but if we didn’t exist, I think there would be survivors out there. And really, that’s all I can ask for.”

He said teams are working as hard as they can to ensure equipment can be safely transported to the area.

The Hanalei Initiative is operating an hourly shuttle from the Hanalei Colony Resort in Wainiha to the Hanalei Neighborhood Center, which is hosting one of the county’s hurricane resource centers. Residents can meet with nonprofits and government agencies for in-person recovery assistance.

The Wainiha and Haena community recognizes their isolation, and instinctively steps in to fill what gaps in recovery response they can.

Hand-painted signs alerting drivers to a single lane and coned-off debris lined a blind turn on Kuhio Highway, while two residents in their 20s directed traffic at another. For now, they want tourists to stay away from the area. A sign indicating resident traffic only was leaned on a truck parked just outside the double bridge.

“Everybody can come back when we’re back to normal,” Honey Chandler said. “We’re nowhere near that right now. Let us heal. Let our power come back on.”

Chandler said the roads need to be clear so residents and crews can transport supplies in and out efficiently.

Gabi Edwards, who co-owns the Country Store with her mother, Joell, said the community was setting a boundary with tourists.

“It’s not being unkind,” she said. “There’s no facilities for them down here. We need our first responders to be where they’re needed most. The roads are unsafe.”

Kawakami said the residents’ wishes to keep it local-traffic-only are merited, and that there needs to be a balance to supporting residents’ healing while ensuring local businesses can stay afloat.

“I think there’s a way to enjoy the North Shore without obstructing recovery efforts,” he said, noting that local businesses may be opening back up in areas of the North Shore that had power restored, like Princeville and Hanalei.

He encouraged tourists to avoid areas still in active recovery, like Wainiha and Haena, and to prioritize local businesses over chains. Those who would like to volunteer can find opportunities on kauairecovers.org.

Read more PHOTOS: BIIF cheer contest at Kea‘au High