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[{"type":"text","text":"Pushing through the week like..."}]

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<title>Daily Smile: Friday, March 13, 2026</title>

Pushing through the week like...

Daily Smile: Friday, March 13, 2026

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Michael Brestovansky

Government & Politics

Business & Tourism

Hawai‘i County schools will also close Friday amid the impending storm.

Gov. Josh Green stated Thursday afternoon that Hawai‘i County, which was previously left out of most of the closures announced throughout the week, will also close all public and charter schools, as well as all courthouses and state offices, on Friday, March 13. 

Gov. Josh Green has announced that all Maui County, Kaua‘i and O‘ahu schools will be closed Friday due to the impending storm.

, Green confirmed that all state offices and Department of Education schools — including charter schools and University of Hawai‘i campuses — will be closed March 13.

For now, UH will reopen Saturday, although all outdoor events on that day will be cancelled. Green said the Hawai‘i vs. UCLA men’s volleyball match on Saturday is still on, for the time being.

The state Legislature will also close Saturday, as will all courthouses on O‘ahu, Molokai, Maui and Lāna‘i.

All state workers will be granted administrative leave, Green said, save for emergency response workers and essential workers such as hospital workers or correctional officers.

The Department of Transportation announced that airports remain open, for now, but travelers are strongly advised to check their airlines for flight status updates, as many flights will likely be cancelled Friday. Travelers are also advised to arrive at the airport three hours in advance of any trans-Pacific flight.

Meanwhile, the City and County of Honolulu has also announced that all DMV and satellite city hall services will be closed on Friday as well. Anyone with an appointment for tomorrow can present proof of that appointment at any location to have that appointment honored next week.

The Honolulu Festival has announced that all activities planned for Saturday remain on schedule, although festival organizers are monitoring the situation and will make adjustments to the schedule as necessary.

 State and county authorities are advising residents to batten down the hatches as harsh weather continues through the weekend.

Thursday began with the National Weather Service issuing flash flood warnings for the entirety of O‘ahu. While the warning terminates at 11:45 a.m., a flood watch remains in effect until Saturday evening, and a high wind watch goes into effect tonight at 6 p.m. until Sunday morning.

Residents are advised to secure outdoor loose items, clear debris from gutters and storm drains and to avoid driving through flooded streets or standing water. Residents are also encouraged to 

 from their county's and the state's emergency management agencies. The state Department of Transportation will track weather-related road closures 

Meanwhile, several state and county facilities will be closed for residents’ safety.

The City and County of Honolulu already closed city park facilities beginning yesterday, with a reopening date yet to be determined. Also closed is the Honolulu Zoo, the Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, all Honolulu botanical and community gardens and all municipal golf courses.

Scheduled performances of the Royal Hawaiian Band between today and Saturday have been cancelled, while a lei draping ceremony at Thomas Square Park that was scheduled for Friday has been postponed.

The O‘ahu Department of Emergency Management has advised that additional closures and cancellations are likely as the storm continues.

A gymnasium at ‘Ewa Mahiko District Park is closed to the public so it can be used as a shelter for the homeless.

A planned “Tourism Day” at the state Capitol on Friday has been postponed to an unspecified future date, although the Capitol itself remains open, for now.

On Kaua‘i, Polihale and Hā‘ena state parks are closed, along with all parking lots within Koke‘e State Park.

 the closure of several O‘ahu and Molokai schools today: Molokai high and middle schools, Kaunakakai Elementary, Kilohana Elementary and Maunaloa Elementary are all closed on Molokai, while Waialua High and Intermediate School and Hale‘iwa Elementary are closed on O‘ahu. The department will issue notices regarding any future closures.

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<title>UPDATED: Storm closes facilities statewide; more likely to follow</title>

Gov. Josh Green announced widespread closure of state government facilities for Friday. Residents are urged to take precautions as storm approaches.

UPDATED: Storm closes facilities statewide; more likely to follow

Daniel Farr 02

Daniel Farr

Hawaiian Electric is projecting nearly $500 million in wildfire mitigation spending over the next three years after state regulators approved the utility’s 2025–2027 wildfire mitigation plan, a decision that also clears the way for the company to seek recovery of those costs from customers.

The Hawaiʻi Public Utilities Commission approved the plan this week, finding it substantially complies with state wildfire mitigation guidelines, while cautioning that any future cost recovery requests will face separate review.

After accounting for about $52 million in anticipated federal and state grant funding, Hawaiian Electric estimates its net wildfire mitigation spending at approximately $483 million from 2025 through 2027.

The PUC has required such two-year plans from Hawaiian Electric since the Maui wildfires, which killed 102 people and destroyed much of Lahaina.

The spending plan includes several major cost drivers. Hawaiian Electric projects about $60 million to install covered conductors on roughly 56 miles of overhead lines on Oʻahu, Maui and Hawaiʻi Island by the end of 2027, at an average cost of about $1.07 million per mile. More than half of that work is concentrated on Maui, reflecting higher wildfire risk.

Vegetation management and inspections account for another $41.5 million, while asset inspections and repairs total about $54.7 million over the three-year period. The company also forecasts $28 million for situational awareness tools, including weather stations, cameras and monitoring systems.

Grid modernization tied to wildfire mitigation represents another major investment. Hawaiian Electric estimates $89.1 million in grid modernization costs associated with the wildfire plan from 2025 to 2027, though those costs are being pursued through a separate regulatory docket under the utility’s extraordinary project recovery mechanism.

Smaller allocations include funding for community outreach and communications, public safety power shutoff notifications, management and governance, and about $1.5 million to establish an Ignition Management Office to oversee wildfire risk reduction.

Any customer rate impacts tied to wildfire mitigation spending would require separate commission approval. Hawaiian Electric has filed a cost recovery request related to its wildfire mitigation plan that is currently under review in a separate proceeding, according to Deborah Kwan, communications officer for the Hawaiʻi Public Utilities Commission, who provided details to Aloha State Daily.

Kwan said Hawaiian Electric may also seek to finance some wildfire mitigation investments through securitization, a mechanism authorized under Act 258 passed during the 2024 legislative session. The commission is awaiting Hawaiian Electric’s application seeking approval of that financing method, she said, adding that regardless of the approach, any costs the utility seeks to recover will be reviewed to ensure they were prudently incurred.

Hawaiian Electric has estimated potential monthly bill impacts if the costs are approved. “For typical residential customers on Oʻahu the estimated monthly bill impact is $1. For Hawaiʻi Island it’s $3 and for Maui it’s $5,” Darren Pai, senior communications consultant for Hawaiian Electric, told ASD. “That still has to be reviewed and approved by the PUC before it can actually happen.”

In approving the wildfire mitigation plan, the commission adopted progress metrics to track Hawaiian Electric’s compliance and identified areas where the utility must continue to improve, including wildfire risk modeling, project timelines, workforce planning and protections for vulnerable populations and critical facilities.

Kwan told ASD the commission is also in the early stages of establishing a rulemaking proceeding to determine a utility liability cap, a step regulators say is required before the state can consider creating a wildfire recovery fund. The rulemaking process will include opportunities for public input, she said.

A separate actuarial study referenced in the commission’s wildfire recovery fund analysis would require legislative authorization, Kwan said. The study cited modeling by Hawaiian Electric estimating potential wildfire damages of roughly $300 million per year.

The commission also held two public meetings in April to gather community input on the wildfire mitigation plan and recovery fund study. Kwan said regulators have closely monitored Hawaiian Electric’s public engagement efforts since the Maui wildfires and noted improvements to the utility’s public safety power shutoff program based on community feedback.

Daily Smile: Friday, March 13, 2026

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Daily Smile: Friday, March 13, 2026

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