Crews on Kauai clear road to isolated Hawaiian homelands resident after Hurricane Lowell

KAUAI (HawaiiNewsNow) – Crews have cleared the only road to the home of a Kauai man who was isolated for more than a week after Hurricane Lowell sent trees crashing across the roadway.

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Eben Manini, 62, lives at Puu Opae Ranch mauka of the Waimea and Kekaha area on Hawaiian homelands.

Manini said he knew help was getting closer Tuesday morning when he heard chainsaws working their way through the forest.

“I heard a saw cutting from like seven in the morning,” Manini said. “Then I made my way up the hill and then I heard voices and it was sounding exciting.”

Crews from the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, Department of Land and Natural Resources, DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife, the Agribusiness Development Corporation, and plenty of volunteers spent days clearing trees and debris from the road.

Manini’s son, Joshua, said some of the eucalyptus trees were about 34 inches in diameter, which caused one of the larger chainsaws to break during the effort.

As crews worked to reopen the road, they also faced problems with the irrigation ditch that supplies water to Manini’s cattle. Leaks sent water across the roadway, making it harder for equipment operators to clear the area.

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The road is now open, allowing Manini to leave for medical care. He previously injured his back while trying to clear downed trees himself.

“Once I go to the doctor and gets my clearance, then I’ll slowly get back and I’ll be chainsawing again like I always did throughout my life,” Eben Manini said.

But the work is not finished.

The irrigation system that provides water for Manini’s cattle was also damaged by the storm. His sister, Bonny Jean Manini, said their own piping has been cracked in at least four places.

The family says crews estimate it could take about four days to restore the water supply, though they believe the repairs could take closer to a week.

Manini says the cattle have only about two to three days of water remaining.

The family is also dealing with downed fencing and other storm damage on the property.

Despite the challenges, Joshua Manini praised the multi-agency effort worked together to reach his father.

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“Everybody did such an awesome job for this mission,” he said.