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CRAIG T. KOJIMA/CKOJIMA@STARADVERTISER.COM
2014 JANUARY 2 CTY A large tractor moved sand to help defend beach homes. City and County of Honolulu Departments of Emergency Management, Facility Maintenance, and Parks and Recreation cleaning up debris on Sunset Beach. Erosion caused by a recent high surf episode that resulted in damage to several properties on Ke Nui Road near Rocky Point. SA photos by Craig T. Kojima
City workers and volunteers hauled away truckloads of debris today from a stretch of Sunset Beach where high surf and tides put at least a half-dozen Rocky Point homes in danger of being washed away.
Aided by a bulldozer and a dump truck, workers with the city departments of Emergency Management, Facility Maintenance and Parks and Recreation removed eight to ten pickup truckloads of debris, moved at least two felled palm trees and removed various sections of fallen utility poles.
“Our focus has been on making the beach safe for use,” said Peter Hirai, the city’s deputy director of emergency management. “But we’re still telling people to be cautious. There may be hazardous debris on the beach.”
Yesterday’s cleanup was timed to correspond with a forecasted lull in the swells. Surf along north-facing shores was expected to rise from today’s 3- to 5-foot swells to 10- to 14-foot swells Friday, according to the National Weather Service.
Pushed by a series of swells out of the north and northwest, the surf on the North Shore is forecasted to remain high through at least early Tuesday.
