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Power restored to Molokai; vast areas of Maui still dark

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Molokai was without power for less than an hour tonight after lightning struck the island’s power plant at about 7:40 p.m.

Power was restored at 8:25 p.m.

The lightning strike was part of a severe line of thunderstorms from Tropical Depression Flossie that ripped across Maui County Monday evening.

There are also widespread outages on the island of Maui, including in Upper Olinda, from Wailuku to Kahakuloa, from Paia to Kuau, from Huelo to Hana, and along most of the East Maui coast. About 9,800 customers were initially without power.

A spokesman for Hawaiian Electric Co. and Maui Electric Co. said most of the outages were reported after thunder storms struck the area.

At 9:45 p.m., about 4,500 customers remained without electricity. The outages affect parts of Wailuku, and Waiehu to Kahakuloa.  Small pockets of customers in Kahului, Haiku and Kula are also affected,  

The storm also damaged power lines in Hana, cutting off service to 900 customers. They may be without power overnight, said Hawaiian Electric Co. spokesman Darren Pai.

Earlier today, crews restored power to about 2,000 Kihei customers affected by a nine-minute outage caused by high winds.

On Hawaii Island, Hawaii Electric Light Co. restored power to nearly all customers, by 9:45 p.m. Crews continued to restore power to a few customers on the east side of the island. Earlier today, outages caused by gusty winds affected customers throughout the lower Puna area.

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