All power restored to Ala Moana Shopping Center

Power has been fully restored to Ala Moana Shopping Center this afternoon after four interruptions since Sunday.

A spokeswoman for the shopping center said 52 stores, including Longs Drugs, were closed this morning.

But Hawaiian Electric Co. spokesman Darren Pai said power was fully restored shortly after 2 p.m.

A substation fire on Sunday, apparently caused by heavy rains, started a chain of events that led to two power outages yesterday at the busy shopping center and nearby buildings, Pai said.

About 70 stores, including Macy's, Shirokiya and the Apple Store, lost power at about 2:30 p.m. while first daughters Sasha and Malia Obama and thousands of Christmas shoppers were at the center.

The power outage also led to a report of noxious odors at the shopping center.

Hazardous material teams from the Honolulu Fire Department arrived at about 3 p.m. to investigate an odor that was disturbing shoppers in the Macy's and Shirokiya area.

Fire spokesman Capt. Terry Seelig said the backup generator the mall used apparently leaked exhaust into the mall's ventilation system.

Shoppers can call Ala Moana Center's customer service center at 955-9517 for more information about what stores are open.

Correction: First Lady Michelle Obama was not at the mall during the power outage yesterday. An earlier version of this story contained incorrect information.