Mayor Roth Signs Emergency Proclamation Banning Parking on Saddle Road

WHEREAS, Chapter 127A, Hawai‘i Revised Statutes, as amended, provides for the establishment of County organizations for disaster relief with a director in charge of each political subdivision; and

WHEREAS, Chapter 127A, Hawai‘i Revised Statutes and Chapter 7, Articles 1 and 2 of the Hawai‘i County Code, establishes a Civil Defense Agency within the County of Hawai‘i and prescribes its powers, duties, and responsibilities, and Section 13-23 of the Hawai‘i County Charter empowers the Mayor of the County to declare emergencies; and

WHEREAS, on November 28, 2022 at 3:02AM, I as Mayor of the County of Hawai’i issued an Emergency Proclamation declaring a state of emergency due to the active eruption of Mauna Loa.

WHEREAS, the eruption began in Moku‘āweoweo, the summit caldera of Mauna Loa, inside Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park; and

WHEREAS, the eruption has since migrated into the Northeast Rift Zone. There are currently no active mandatory evacuations; and

WHEREAS, due to the active eruption now confined to the Northeast Rift Zone, the previously opened evacuation shelters located at Robert Herkes gym in Pahala (Ka’u gym) and at the Kekuaokalani Gym at Kailua Park (Old A’s) in Kona may be closed in the near future; additional shelters may be opened if necessary; and

WHEREAS, Section 127A-12(a)(5)(D), Hawai’i Revised Statutes, provides that during the emergency period, the Mayor may exercise the following powers pertaining to emergency management to direct or control as may be necessary for emergency management the conduct of civilians and the movement and cessation of movement of pedestrians and vehicular traffic during, before, and after alerts, exercises, training, emergencies, or disasters; and

WHEREAS, Section 127A-12(c)(12), Hawai’i Revised Statutes as amended, provides that during the emergency period, the Mayor may restrict the congregation of the public in stricken or dangerous areas or under dangerous conditions; and

WHEREAS, the eruption is visible from the Daniel K. Inouye (DKI) Highway, which has resulted in a significant increase in spectators driving and parking on the DKI Highway or on the shoulder of the DKI Highway.

WHEREAS, most of the DKI Highway between the sixteen mile marker (16 MM) and the thirty-one mile marker (31 MM) has a maximum speed limit of sixty (60) miles per hour, and it lacks sufficient infrastructure such as crosswalks and necessary lighting to safely sustain the increased amount of pedestrians arriving in vehicles in the area and traversing the area on foot, thereby creating unsafe road conditions.

WHEREAS, based on these unsafe road conditions, on November 28, 2022, at 09:25 p.m., pursuant to Sections 127A-25 and 291C-111, Hawai’i Revised Statutes as amended, I issued Emergency Rule #1 prohibiting all vehicles from stopping and/or or parking on the DKI Highway at any time between the sixteen mile marker (16 MM) and the thirty-one mile marker (31 MM), except as permitted at designated parking lots; and

WHEREAS, due to the eruption’s continued activity, I have determined that it is necessary to supplement and expand my Emergency Proclamation issued on November 28, 2022, at 3:02 a.m. related to updated eruption activity and spectator interest creating road hazards on the DKI Highway; and

WHEREAS, the danger of disaster is such magnitude to warrant protective action in order to provide for the health, safety, welfare and protection of the people and pursuant to Section 127A-13(b)(4), Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes, the Mayor finds it necessary to take appropriate actions to direct and control the mandatory evacuation of the civilian population.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, MITCHELL D. ROTH, Mayor of the County of Hawai‘i, do hereby proclaim and declare that a state of emergency exists due to the threat of imminent disaster on Hawaiʻi Island, effective November 28, 2022, 09:25 p.m., Hawaiʻi.This ORDER is effective at 09:25 p.m., this 28th day of November, 2022.

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Mitchell D. Roth 
Mayor 
County of Hawai‘i