Ka`ū News Briefs Saturday, August 18, 2018

Deep cracks have partially swallowed an informational sign. Photo from Big Island Video News

     Though seismic shaking mostly stopped after the August 2 collapse explosion, the park's main entrance remains closed, with damage to natural features, trails, roads, buildings, and water and sewage lines over the last 100 days. The park is taking inventory of its working and nonworking assets in order to plan for the future.
     Hawai`i Volcanoes Superintendent Cindy Orlando said park staff would like nothing better than to reopen areas closed to the public. Some openings will be coming soon, she said. However, she noted that the federal government is "very skeptical" of investing money to make repairs quickly in the unstable areas. The main concern is also safety of employees and visitors, she said, noting Thurston Lava Tube and Jaggar Museum will not reopen soon.
     Orlando said she well understands that businesses surrounding the park depend on revenues from park visitors. The park itself depends on entrance fees to pay its employees, to maintain and repair its infrastructure, and to fund its programs and community assets such as a fire truck and ambulance for the park and Volcano Village, she explained. She noted that park employees, many of them local residents, still have their jobs, with some helping in other parks, such as Haleakala on Maui. Some are working at the Kahuku Unit near Ocean View, and others are assigned to Volcano Art Center and outreach locations in Hilo.

Kīlauea Caldera as of August 17. Photo from Big Island Video News

     Berkeley Yoshida, Pāhala resident and HVNP Concession Management Specialist, noted the closure of Volcano House hotel, restaurant, and store, and said the concessionaire has offered employees first opportunity to return to their jobs with any reopening.
     He said that some tour companies that can no longer take visitors to the lookout over Halema`uma`u have adjusted their routes and are bringing them to the Kahuku Unit, now open 5 days a week. He said visitors are also slowly coming back to Volcano Village businesses.
     Representatives of local businesses, like Louis Danielle, of Ka`ū Coffee Mill, said the mill and other attractions are very dependent on the park being open. He said the main reason that visitors come here is to go to the park. Ed Olson, founder of Ka`ū Coffee Mill, suggested that during this time, more local people visit and buy local products. His company employs many Ka`ū residents.

Berkeley Yoshida, HVNP Concession Management Specialist, noted the Volcano House closure and said employees are promised first chance at returning to their jobs. Photo by Julia Neal

     Volcanoes National Park Facility Manager Jon Anderson said his job is to take care of the infrastructure and keep people safe. He said it was very hard for him to watch it damaged day after day during the period of many earthquakes. He said he is particularly taken with a USGS video showing the Jaggar Museum rock wall and overlook plaza cracking open and closing during a 5.4 quake on July 5.
     Anderson said there is much to be determined inside the park. Should a big crack in a road be filled or spanned with a bridge-like structure? How long should the park wait to make sure Madame Pele has settled down before investing in expensive repairs?
     In addition to the obvious, he said, ground penetrating radar is revealing much damage below the surface. He and Orlando described roads that look like they are ok, but are hollow below. It will take time to document these risks and need for repairs. Some buildings that look like they may be fine from the outside are yet to entered and inspected.
     Regarding repairs, one speaker asked whether the Army Corps of Engineers has been called. Orlando said it is a good idea. Another asked whether FEMA helps pay for repairs. The answer is that FEMA, a federal agency does, not pay for disasters at federal facilities but that a federal emergency funding agency can pay for road repairs within the park.
    The repair to historic park buildings was mentioned and Richard Taylor, of Ka Lae, said there will be an opportunity to study how the variously constructed facilities held up to the recent quakes.

Jon Anderson, Facility Manager at Hawai`i Volcanoes, said it was hard to watch the day after day damage done to park facilities during the long period of earthquakes. Photo by Julia Neal

     Several speakers, including the Park Superintendent, talked about the carrying capacity of the park and said that managing the large crowds had become difficult, with two million people a year arriving.
     James Akau, of Pāhala, who helps to manage the county's Kāwā oceanfront preserve, talked about the balancing of maximum revenue at Hawai`i Volcanoes with the quality of experience and preservation of natural and cultural resources, particularly for local residents. He urged not making it all "about the money." He also noted that portions of Kahuku have been closed to hikers in order to prevent the spread of the Rapid `Ōhi`a Death fungi that are killing native forest.

Nene, endemic Hawaiian goose and the state bird, experience   no people at Kīlauea summit. Photo from Big Island Video News

     Julia Espanola, of Pāhala, reminded the group that many local people are employed at the park, which takes income.
     Clarissa Pua, of Pāhala, said she was originally from Kalapana and lost her home to lava there years ago. She said that Madame Pele should be left alone at this time, to give the `āina a rest. She suggested personally guided tours with lower numbers of people and more access to local residents at affordable rates or free. She said Madame Pele should be respected. Missy Powell, of Wood Valley, who grew up on the island, said free passes drew her family to the park when she was a child.
     Sandra Reha, of Wood Valley, suggested shuttles to keep congestion down. Rick Warshauer, of Volcano, suggested allowing shuttles, bikers, and hikers into the park. Raina Whiting, who recently ran for state House of Representatives, said that true income to the local community through millions of people visiting the park should be studied. She said that many more people arriving at the park over the last 30 years does not necessarily mean more money to the local people. She said she would like to attract visitors who care about the place.
     State House of Representatives member Richard Creagan recommended development of private camp grounds, especially near Kahuku Unit, to support visitation of the National Park.

More road cracks -- in the foreground and in the distance -- that need assessment and repairing in the park before visitors can travel them. USGS photo

     Orlando mentioned that Hawai`i Volcanoes is negotiating to acquire the Great Crack area between Pāhala and Volcano, which could provide a different experience. She also talked about the reopening of Chain of Craters Road, after repairs, with the possibility of more interpretive sites along the ocean. Along Mauna Loa Road, she said the area is closed until the 4,000 acre wildfire that burned there over the past week is completely out. In the meantime, Kahuku is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., 5 days a week -- see more info, below, in the ongoing events section.
     Regarding the future of the park, Orlando said the park is open to ideas from the community. More meetings will be held at the Volcano Art Center Ni`aulani Campus on Tuesday, Aug. 21 at 1 p.m., and at Kahuku Unit at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 23.

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