Kualapuu News

While parents and educators across Hawaii bemoaned the first furlough Friday and the shortening of the school year, it was a very different scene at Kualapu'u Elementary School on Molokai.

More than 70 county and state firefighters are battling the flames. As of Monday night, authorities said the fire charred an estimated 7800 acres of land on the Friendly Isle.

The Hawaii Department Of Education has closed four schools on Molokai Monday because of the 6,000 acre brushfire north of Kaunakakai, according to its website and a DOE spokeswoman.

Moloka'i's Kualapuu Elementary Public Charter School will hold classes today, the state Department of Education said this morning.

Ashes continued to fall outside, and the smell of smoke lingered in Kim Tempo's house.

Four public schools on Molokai are closed today because of a brush fire that has charred more than 6,000 acres since Saturday.

On the Friendly Isle, the possibility of hefty water rate hikes is stirring up frustration.

The U.S. Department of Energy is awarding $5.5 million in stimulus funds to the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute at the University of Hawaii at Manoa to develop "Smart Grid" demonstration projects, U.S. Rep.

After more than a week of restricted water usage among Molokaci residents, repairs to the Kualapuu well have been completed and water is flowing again to the 1 million-gallon Kaunakakai holding tank.

Maui County officials flew to Molokai on Saturday to warn Kaunakakai and Kalae residents that if they don't conserve water, a shortage could become a crisis.

* Good standing, pending: Kamalii Elementary, Maunaloa Elementary and Kualapuu Elementary.

KAUNAKAKAI, MOLOKAI>> Residents in the main town of Kaunakakai and nearby Kalae are being asked to use county drinking water for health and safety purposes only until a well pump is replaced.