Lala strengthens into hurricane as it barrels toward Hawaii

The National Hurricane Center said Lala’s maximum sustained winds increased to 120 km/h, making it a Category 1 hurricane. The eyewall was forecast to move over or near the island’s southern end by the evening, lashing its worst winds at volcanic slopes thousands of feet above sea level.

Forecasters said higher elevations on the island, dominated by the towering Mauna Kea volcano, could get as much as 63.5 centimetres of rain.

That could cause life-threatening mudslides in a mountainous area where people live off the grid in improvised housing, and authorities urged them to find safe shelter quickly.

Bobby Camara, a 75-year-old lifelong resident of the Big Island, said he planned to “hunker down, cross my fingers, hope the lights don’t go out” at a care home just outside Hilo. He said gas stations were busy as people sought fuel for chainsaws and vehicles.

“I think stocking up is part of life over here…. You learn to be self-reliant,” Camara said.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green described it as an “enormous storm” and warned of destructive flooding and even the possibility of wildfires kicked up by strong winds across the island chain. Electricity was knocked out for 10 per cent of customers on the Big Island, according to poweroutage.us.

Mike Caputo, who lives in Keaau, near the island’s east coast, said the main concern was flash flooding and fallen trees, especially albizia, a common tree.

“They’re not very sturdy, but they grow extremely large,” said Caputo, 50, a local fire captain. “They can make roads impassable. I made sure my trees were trimmed a few days ago.”

The Big Island was under a hurricane warning, and tropical storm warnings were issued for the islands of Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, Oahu, Kauai and Niihau.

A Category 3 hurricane hit the northeast corner of the Big Island in 1871, according to research by a University of Hawaii atmospheric scientist. The latest forecast has Lala striking “very close to the southern tip of the Big Island,” said Vanessa Almanza, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Honolulu.

Shelters were opened, events were cancelled and ranchers were urged to leave their cattle in pastures, rather than structures that might collapse. “It doesn’t take landfall to create destruction,” Almanza said.

The hurricane centre predicted 20.3 to 30.5 centimetres of total rainfall across Maui and the lower elevations of the Big Island, and 10.2 to 15.2 centimetres across the island chain.

Officials urge taking the storm seriously

State Rep. Jeanné Kapela called for people to remain alert. The southern end of the island is remote and rural, with agriculture including coffee and cattle, but it’s growing in population because of its affordability. Kapela was especially worried about people who live off the grid.

“If you feel now that your house doesn’t have a great roof or might not be able to withstand hurricane force winds, then first things first you go to a family or friend’s house and you kind of hunker down there,” she said in a text message to The Associated Press.

Many Hawaiians are still dealing with the aftermath of devastating floods in March. Growers still recovering are worried about more damage, according to Hawaii Farm Bureau director Brian Miyamoto.

Wildfire risks increase during windy weather

As winds ramped up across the islands, Almanza said dry and breezy conditions outside the storm would elevate fire concerns.

In 2023 the Maui town of Lahaina burned during extreme winds as a hurricane passed far to the south.

“Since the fire, everybody is way more aware of weather in general and our environment and things that are happening,” said Archie Kalepa of Lahaina, who is well known in the area for his surfing, paddling and other ocean skills.

Kauai, which is several islands northwest up the archipelago from the Big Island, is where Hurricane Iniki made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in 1992 — an El Niño year like this one, when a warming of the Pacific near the equator increases Pacific hurricane activity and affects weather patterns across the globe.

“It did $3 billion worth of damage. It destroyed thousands of homes, and it did kill six people,” said Steven Businger, a University of Hawaii atmospheric scientist. “We just can never know if a storm is going to turn.”

— The Associated Press