Posted on 12/27/2008 7:49:13 AM PST by COUNTrecount
Oahu was without power overnight, possibly from a lightning strike, and Hawaiian Electric Co. officials said to expect it to last until morning.
The outages, which began hitting various parts of the island at about 6:30 p.m., also affected the Kailua neighborhood where President-elect Barack Obama is staying.
Mayor Mufi Hannemann said at about 10:10 p.m. that Honolulu police had talked to Obama. “He said he is fine and he and his family are going to bed,” the mayor said on KSSK.
Gov. Linda Lingle advised all residents to do the same. She said Heco officials advised her that it would be morning before the power returns for most of the island.
She said it was going to be a slow process to get the island powered up because they do not want to overload the system.
Lingle also said that Heco workers were bringing a generator to Obama’s Kailua compound.
Peter Rosegg, a Heco spokesman, said the outages could last about 12 hours and happened during an electrical storm. “It is going to be a long, dark night, and that’s the bad news,” he said on KSSK earlier in the night.
At 9:30 p.m., a state transportation spokesman said that Honolulu Airport was two-thirds operational on back-up power and that departing flights were taking off after being grounded for several hours. Four out of five generators were working at the airport. Incoming flights were allowed to land all night.
The runway lights and the traffic control tower are working on back-up power, said Tammy Mori, spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation.
She also reminded motorists to treat intersections with no power as four-way stops.
The outage also closed stores at major retail outlets just after sunset, halting post-Christmas shopping a couple of hours early.
Heco officials said that apparent lightning strikes triggered so-called “load shedding” -- an automatic shutting down of power area after area on Oahu to prevent a catastrophic shutdown of the entire system. One plant, Kahe 4, was working for a couple of hours giving power to Makakilo and parts of Waianae. However that plant also went out about 8:30, making the blackout islandwide.
The outage started when transmission lines from Kahe lost power at about 6:30 p.m., which started a “tripping effect” that shut down different areas of the island.
John Cummings III, spokesman for the city Department of Emergency Management, said that as soon as the power went down, the city activated its Emergency Operating Center. Officials from Honolulu police, fire, Emergency Management Services, the Board of Water Supply and the city transportation gathered at the center with the mayor.
Officials asked the public to only call 911 for extreme emergencies. Emergency officials have been inundated with calls since the power went out. Fire officials responded to numerous calls of people stuck in elevators. Cummings asked that people stay off the roads and conserve water since the pumping system runs on electric power.
“Thankfully, it happened at night when most people were already at home,” he said.
“Lingle also said that Heco workers were bringing a generator to Obama’s Kailua compound.”
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Oh - that’s precious....
so when the electricity goes out the electric companies will give EVERYONE a generator?... Sweet/sarc
Power outage in those photos too.
Not even inaugurated and already he’s calling down lightning..
Who’s the National Geographic chick?
;-
India vs Pakistan No, Hamas vs Israel No, Russian vs USA No.
Now this MUST be the major problem that Biden said The One would have to handle!! Gird your loins!
Lightening strike... Obama must have told Michelle she was the sweetest wife in the world.
Sorry, couldn’t resist.
I hope we don’t get a report something like The One is suffering from irregularity or sinusitis. Anything to keep his highness in the news pages.
She’s not a National Geographic chick. Her boobs are covered up. Too bad Obama’s manboobs aren’t.
1.mansiere
A brassiere for men, aka a “bro”.
Makes its first appearance in the Seinfeld episode, The Doorman.
For comfort and support for men, choose the mansiere.
Here is Obama's 'Kailua compound'. Purchased for 9 million, now renting for $3,500 (per day!)
"Located on fabulous Castle Point at Kailua Beach. This 5 bedroom, 5 1/2 bath private estate is located at the end of a private road. An enclosed yard protected on one side by the ocean and the other by the beach add to the magical seclusion of this home. This estate is an original historic Castle family home that was completely remodeled in 2005 with everything from the basics to quality furnishings, gourmet kitchen, granite, and more. The uniquely wonderful appeal of this estate is everything is done in an open air design for the ultimate island paradise. Weight Room with TV/DVD, Wireless Internet"
LOL. Is she eating a cola-nut? (In my best Jamaican accent)
I'm deeply offended.
Please tell me I don't need the sarcasm tag here.
dang momma, what's that smell?
I think we may see some incredible things happen in the next few years.
If this were Pres. Clinton, they would have had electricity back on by now.
They just never look very lovey dovey do they?
Good opportunity to break into the BC office and swap a few things.
Not that tough to do.. Be careful!
It’s de rigeur though, to run an extension cord to the neighbors if one has a big enough generator. Too, others are likely to notice the lights are still on, if not the noise.
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