40 foot waves batter northern Oahu

[tropicana]

Wed Dec 15th 2004

Waves with faces of 20 to 40 feet rolled onto Oahu’s North Shore this morning, causing some road and park closures, but no major problems.
Beaches were closed to all but expert big wave surfers who participated in the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational at Waimea Bay, an event that’s only held when waves reach a massive height.

Just before 10 a.m., lifeguards and the fire department responded to a report of surfers in distress near the “Rockpiles” break on the North Shore. Both men were brought in safely.
State and some county parks with exposure to north and west facing shores were closed today as a precaution.
A high surf warning was in effect until tonight for all north and west facing shores.

More swells may arrive Friday night and early next week.

Traffic was tied up on Kamehameha Highway as tourists flocked to see the spectacle.
Giant surf cut off a part of Haleiwa town when waves flooded over Kamehameha Highway near Haleiwa Beach Park early this morning.
Police shut down Kamehameha from Haleiwa Road to Joseph P. Leong Highway at 6:20 a.m., leaving about a dozen businesses in the area to deal with floodwaters and no access for customers.
Police reopened the road just before 11 a.m.

Oahu Civil Defense officials said besides the road closure in Haleiwa, most of the trouble from surf came from debris washing across the road. About 25 civil defense volunteers kept watch from Makaha to Kualoa Ranch just in case of emergencies today but for the most part they just kept an eye on the surf.

Wave watchers came in droves, with hundreds of people illegally parking along Kamehameha Highway and walking two to three miles or more to Waimea, some of them trying to catch a ride along the way.

Former world champion professional surfer Kelly Slater described the conditions at Waimea as “giant.”
“I don't think I've seen it like this,” Slater said.
Contest spokeswoman Jodi Young said this swell is the “longest lasting you could ever hope for.”
“This is an 18 hour peaking swell ... it's great,” Young said. “We've never been able to run this early before in December.”

-justin-