A high-surf advisory remains in effect until 6 p.m. today for the north and west shores of Oahu, Kauai, Niihau and Molokai and the north shores of Maui.
The National Weather Service said waves of 15 to 20 feet overnight will decrease to 10 to 15 feet today on the north shores.
Along the west shores, waves of 10 to 15 feet overnight will decrease to 8 to 12 feet today, the weather service said.
A northwest swell is expected to keep the surf high through today, the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday, the agency said.
Fire rescue crews responded Sunday to a report of a surfer in distress at the Banzai Pipeline. The call came in at 6:35 p.m., just after dark.
The weather service urged surfers, swimmers and other beachgoers to pay attention to lifeguards, and boaters were warned to watch out for surfers in harbor channels.
On Kauai the county Ocean Safety Bureau closed all north shore beaches from Hanalei to Kee on Sunday due to dangerous ocean conditions.
A small-craft advisory also was in effect Sunday, but was set to expire at midnight.
Tighter rules on vacation rentals sought on Kauai
LIHUE >> Kauai County is looking at solidifying rules as enforcement officials shut down transient vacation rentals operating illegally.
Six illegally operating single-family transient vacation rentals have been closed outside the visitor destination area so far this year. In fiscal year 2015 officials shut down 71, the Garden Island newspaper reported.
Planning officials who revisited these properties found that they had reopened.
County Planning Director Michael Dahilig updated County Council members on the issue last week.
“It’s not just a citation and they shut down,” Dahilig said Wednesday. “We have been getting into much administrative litigation as a consequence of people being persistent and wanting to have rights on the property that they are not entitled to.”
He said it doesn’t appear the problem is going to resolve itself.
“This is a way of life for us now,” Dahilig said. “We are going to have to enforce on TVRs consistently because people are going to continue to choose to break the law.”
He said property owners who rent illegally are not always assessed the $10,000 daily fine, which Council Chairman Mel Rapozo said should not be the case.
Vacation rental owners have had to live on-site since a rule change in May.
The planning committee will consider new transient vacation rental rules Thursday. Depending on committee action, the measure could appear before Council members for a second reading by Jan. 27.
“We’re trying to work through to provide more direct policy guidance on home-stay issues,” Dahilig said.
