On Aug. 8, 2023, as wildfires raged in Lahaina, Maui, the Big Island was simultaneously fighting seven separate wildfires in Kohala. With a High Wind Warning in effect, county officials said they recognized the imperative need for a unified, vigilant approach to monitoring the unfolding situation across the state.
The House Committee on Finance will continue to conduct site visits across the state to gain insight into the status of ongoing projects and other needs of neighbor island communities.
If everything goes smoothly, a planned $5.4 million dredging project could begin as early as next February or March and be finished within 6 to 9 months to restore ocean access to the Puna community.
When asked what Puna’s ocean access priorities were following the 2018 Kīlauea eruption, pollsters said it will take more than one solution to address the issue.
With the release of Federal Emergency Management Agency’s draft assessment report of the lava-impacted areas, work to restore roads, waterlines and park facilities will begin mostly likely 2024.
Part of Hawai‘i County’s eruption recovery plan is repairing damage and upgrading Isaac Kepo‘okalani Hale Beach Park, which is along the bay. In the long-term, county officials hope improve ocean access for swimming at Pohoiki Bay.
Recovery efforts have been frustratingly slow on all fronts during the nearly five years since the catastrophic Kīlauea eruption ended in September 2018, leaving a big wake of destruction. But work and property buyouts continue five years later.
The Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation is proposing dredging and excavating most of the volcanic debris from the 2018 Kilauea eruption that landlocked the boat ramp, severely curtailing fishing, emergency services and other commercial, recreational and food subsistence activities that previously relied on ocean access there.