WAIKOLOA — Some operations are meant to end with a bang.
An upcoming U.S. Army Corps of Engineers initiative to clear portions of Waikoloa Village of unexploded ordnance (UXO) left behind after U.S. Marine Corps training during wartime in the mid-1940s has almost precisely the opposite goal. Almost.
Typical USACE protocol is to evaluate any detected UXO and remove it for detonation at another site, if possible. If moving the item proves too dangerous, however, investigators will detonate UXO on site using live explosives. Hence, the evacuation order USACE has been circulating for weeks for a portion of the village.
Loren Zulick, project manager with USACE, explained the details of the clearance to a few dozen attendees at a forum on the coming action held Thursday night at Waikoloa Elementary and Middle School. While his general message wasn’t exactly breaking news to those seated in the cafeteria, some of his presentation brought new information to light.
“We all knew that in World War II they did training, but I didn’t know it was so close,” said Michelle Alcoran, who resides in part of the area USACE plans to inspect. “It is kind of scary when you think about it because there’s so many kids in the neighborhood that are playing.”
Investigators wielding metal detectors will comb a handful of neighborhoods in Waikoloa Village, as well as Ke Kumu Ekahi, Ke Kumu Elua and Ke Kumu Ekolu, for UXO such as mortars, rockets and grenades. The small parcel of land to be inspected is part of a much larger area, the former Waikoloa Maneuver Area (WMA), where marines trained for the fight against the Axis powers.
The potential necessity of on-site detonation of UXO is the impetus for evacuation of those areas, including a 450-foot buffer around the work zones, between Sept. 4-7. The project dates could be extended by up to a week depending on what investigators find.
Alcoran’s 10-year-old son, Kaimana, said he isn’t currently, nor has he ever been, afraid of the possibility he’d be hurt because of potential UXO in his neighborhood. But he did tell a story from last year that highlighted the necessity of the USACE operation.
“My friend found ammunition,” Kaimana said. “It was during school. He grabbed it and he kind of kept it in his bag because he was walking toward school and that’s when he found it.”
Evacuees won’t need to find places to sleep, as USACE sweeps will only be conducted from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the days of note. During those hours, however, relevant areas must be cleared.
Zulick said not every person given an evacuation notice will be impacted for the length of the project. As the work progresses, the evacuation zone will progress with it.
USACE sent mailers to around 110 homes and the housing sites inside the evacuation zone, as well as conducted two door-to-door notification campaigns.
However, those unsure if they’re located in the initial evacuation zone, or those who want to keep tabs on the zone’s progression, may do so by visiting https://goo.gl/jnU3ng and clicking on the words “PUBLIC NOTICE” all in blue on the top right-hand corner of the page. That action will link to an updated map of the evacuation zone.
The information can also be obtained by calling 808-308-8452 to listen to updates via recorded phone message or by contacting Chris Matute, site manager, at 808-896-5203.
Road closures, monitored by off-duty police, and limited access in and out of homes located on some cul-de-sacs will also accompany the work. Road closure updates may also be obtained by visiting the website listed above and clicking the link, or by recorded message at 808-308-8452.
The Alcorans will be ordered to evacuate for at least the first day.
“It’s going to be a little bit of an inconvenience, but it’s a good reason to go to the beach, I guess, or take the kids to the park. Just get out of the house,” Michelle laughed. “It will work out for us, but it’s going to be an inconvenience for a lot of people in the neighborhood.”
Those without a place to go are invited to spend work hours at a comfort station at Hooko Park. There, employees of GSI Pacific, a company contracted by USACE to help conduct the UXO sweeps, will be stationed with juice and water.
UXO can be found anywhere from on the surface of the ground, visible, to several feet deep. Zulick advised anyone who encounters an item they believe to be UXO follow the three-R system — recognize, retreat and report. In other words, recognize the item may pose a danger, retreat from the area without touching or moving the UXO and report it immediately to police.
USACE has cleared around 2,700 UXO from nearly 30,000 acres since it began the work. The entire WMA spans an area of more than 100,000 acres.
Raymond Lahm, who was at Thursday’s meeting and worked on a UXO clearing project in Waikoloa in 2004, said residents inside and outside the evacuation zone have little to fear.
“If you go by the suggestions and the guidelines of the Army Corps of Engineers, you’re going to be very safe,” he said. “There’s never 100 percent, but I’d say it’s 99.9 (percent).”
Why wasn’t this done before any land in that area was put up for sale? It was known back then what the area was used for. This blame goes right to the County. How can they have land for sale knowing it could be hazardous.
The State and County is accountable for letting the army come in the first place – Army should go and clean out the ravines and gullies and plains from all their trash, not just one neighborhood, then keep moving back to the mainland!
Army needs to clean up Lower Puna as well, every year the schools hand out photos of bombs to the kids and their parents, to make sure no one plays or touches them..