
Update to this article (8/24/07): The signs have finally been
put in place on Big Beach and at Black Sand Beach. It only took
5 months. Maui time...
Reprinted from the Maui News -Living up to its name, the Puu olai
cinder cone will be posted with signs warning beachgoers to stay
clear of the cliffs on the sides of the 360-foot hill towering over
Makena State Park.
“We just want people to stay away from the sides,”
said Maui District Parks Superintendent Phil Ohta.
The north side of the state park at Oneuli (black sand) Beach was
closed on Oct. 26 after a section of the cinder cone collapsed,
possibly loosened by the Oct. 15 earthquakes the occurred between
Maui and the Big Island.
Ohta said Puu olai, which translates as “earthquake hill,”
was considered to be unstable even before the earthquakes.
With the magnitude-6.7 and -6.0 earthquakes having shaken the islands,
the state is concerned about an increased threat from pieces of
the hill falling without warning. New signs warning people to stay
away from the sides of the hill will be posted around it, including
along the sandy beach in the bay formed by Puu olai commonly known
as little beach.
Puu olai was formed by explosive eruptions that left a mound of
compacted cinders as well as sections of solidified lava that now
form the arms of the small bay. Ohta said a trail on the south arm
of the hill will remain open, but signs will caution beachgoers
to stay away from the slopes behind the beach.
He said signs are being made now. When they are posted, the vehicle
access to Oneuli Beach will be reopened, Ohta said. |