A small work crew aided by a helicopter was scheduled to begin removing more than two dozen rocks from the hillside above a Nanakuli homestead community this morning after a day of surveying and preparatory work.

The Hawaii division of Janod, a rock stabilization and remediation company, was given a $65,000 contract after being selected through an emergency procurement process initiated by the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, which owns the property as well as the land under the homes.

Janod was expected to again ask area residents in about 20 homes along the mauka side of Mokiawe Street to vacate during the work, although many chose to stay when given the same warning Thursday.

Among those who stuck around to watch the prep work was Charles Kaaukai, who contacted DHHL in late April about the loose rocks behind his yard.

DHHL Land Management Chief Kalei Young assessed the situation and set in motion the remediation process.

Kaaukai, 80, moved onto his property in 1972.

The biggest concern is about a large boulder directly behind Kaaukai’s yard that is more than 5 feet tall; Janod Hawaii Operations Manager Pierre Rousseau described it as the size of a small car. Workers are expected to net and anchor the rock, crack it into four pieces, and then haul the pieces away.

Kaaukai, a retired Army combat engineer, said his concerns about the situation were renewed after reading in the Star-Advertiser about rock slides in Kalihi and Niu Valley.

"When I read all that, I looked at my mountain and I says, ‘If that thing comes down, we no more chance,’" Kaaukai said. "Our mountain over here, so far, so good. We’re lucky. But we’re not going to be lucky and we not going get chance if that thing fall."

While he knows of no rocks falling onto residential property or damaging homes, he pointed to two large boulders that had made their way to the concrete canal behind a number of Mokiawe Street homes. Kaaukai said he doesn’t know where the rocks came from but knows he doesn’t want to see any more.

Kaaukai said he’s not just concerned for his own family and property, but for his next-door neighbor, a 92-year-old woman who is bedridden, and other neighbors.

The original contract called for 12 to 15 boulders to be removed. By midday, Rousseau and his crew had counted 18 loose rocks they wanted gone.

By 2 p.m., there were 28 on Rousseau’s list.

Rousseau said he hopes to finish the work today because he has other projects scheduled for elsewhere on the island as well as on the mainland.

Kaaukai praised Young and former DHHL Director Alapaki Nahale-a for showing no hesitation when it came to calling in the rock removers.

He said he first approached DHHL about the rocks five years ago. Officials who came to survey the situation advised him to not go up the mountain, and then left, he said.

Rousseau said he could spot a number of rocks on the mountainside that should be removed.