Warning sirens under repair on Big Island
Twenty-five percent of Hawaii County’s emergency warning sirens malfunctioned Monday during the monthly testing, the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency reported Tuesday.
Of the county’s 71 warning sirens, 18, primarily in Hilo and Puna, did not activate or sound, said County Civil Defense Administrator Darryl Oliveira in a news release.
The problem was traced to a radio transmission repeater site in Kulani, which provides the radio signal link to those sirens, Civil Defense explained.
The agency has corrected the problem, and preliminary tests show the system is working.
A follow-up siren test will be conducted, and the public will be informed in advance of the test.
The state Civil Defense Agency, which owns the emergency warning siren system, is planning a statewide upgrade. Priority will be given to tsunami evacuation areas.
The upgraded system will bring more reliability and flexibility in sounding sirens since it is based on both satellite and cellular communication links, the county says.
County Civil Defense officials said they will coordinate with state Civil Defense to ensure the current system is working, and also will work to expedite the completion of the upgrade project.
Oliveira said the project is scheduled to begin in August and is expected to be completed by spring.
Plane’s pilikia linked to engine
A pilot of an airplane carrying three passengers was forced to make an emergency landing in a brush area on Maui on June 16 after the aircraft lost power, according to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Board.
No one was hurt in the forced landing near a Central Maui shoreline. The single-engine Piper aircraft struck bushes and trees during the landing before it came to rest in the Waihee-Waiehu area, the report said. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector found the airplane’s left wing and fuselage were damaged.
The report said the airplane, registered to Mokulele Iki LLC of Kihei, left Honolulu at 3:30 p.m. and was flying to Kahului Airport when the pilot noticed a slight hesitation in the engine while cruising at 1,500 feet above sea level. "The pilot switched fuel tanks and verified the magneto and fuel selector positions," the report said. But five to 10 minutes later, the pilot noticed a second hesitation in the engine, which ran rough, then fluctuated in revolutions and eventually lost power, it said.
Furloughs set at missile range
Some 130 of the 1,000 civilian employees at Kauai’s Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kekaha will have 11 additional days off between Monday and Sept. 13 because of federal spending cuts, the Garden Island newspaper reported Tuesday.
Only civilian workers who hold "mission critical duties" will not be affected by the furloughs, a Navy spokesman said.
There will be three furlough days this month, four next month and four in September.
