Multi-agency recovery underway as 117,000 Hawaiian Electric customers remain without power
Storm damage has left more than 117,000 homes and businesses across Hawaii in the dark, and the repair job is big enough that the state has called for outside help for the first time.
- Oahu and the Big Island are hit hardest, with about 41,000 customers out on each.
- Maui County has roughly 6,700 without power, and Kauai a few hundred more.
- Crews are fixing the big transmission lines first, which then lets them repair neighborhood wiring.
- Utility crews from California and other mainland states have been flown in — the first time Hawaii has ever done this after a storm.
Outlook: Power should come back in waves over the coming days as the main lines are restored, but the hardest-hit neighborhoods will wait longest.