Hawaiʻi National Guard Provides Power to Kauaʻi Humane Society After Hurricane Lowell
The Hawaiʻi National Guard provided emergency backup power to the Kauaʻi Humane Society following Hurricane Lowell after the organization’s existing generator became inoperable, ensuring the facility could continue essential animal-care operations during the island’s recovery.
Hurricane Lowell brought heavy rainfall, strong winds and hazardous conditions to Kauaʻi, contributing to road damage, disruptions to essential services and impacts to communities across the island.
“After losing utility power, our generator failed 48 hours after Hurricane Lowell made landfall,” said Allegra Kanna Scribner from Marketing & Communications of the Kauaʻi Humane Society. “Without power, our in-shelter operations were extremely limited. More alarmingly, our refrigerated vaccines were becoming compromised and our power-reliant water well stopped working, meaning our animals would soon completely run out of water.”
Hawaiʻi National Guard personnel on Kauaʻi conducted a feasibility assessment and coordinated with the Kauaʻi Emergency Management Agency and local utility personnel to determine the requirements for connecting and operating a generator at the facility.
The assessment determined that a 60-kilowatt Hawaiʻi National Guard diesel generator could meet the Humane Society’s requirements. Hawaiʻi National Guard personnel were then sourced to support the mission, while coordination with the Kauaʻi County Department of Public Works was established to transport the generator to the facility.
Staff Sgt. Kamakanilawaialii Pickering-Stevens, Power Pro Shop, 154th Civil Engineering Squadron, Hawaiʻi Air National Guard, was among the airmen supporting the mission.
“Today we're providing power to the Kauaʻi Humane Society, supporting them in their operations,” said Pickering-Stevens. “It feels great to come out here and help serve the community, helping these guys in these challenging times, just giving them peace of mind that they have the power that they need.”
The generator was connected and operational on Sept. 15, restoring full power to the shelter and allowing the Humane Society to resume its normal operations.
“This generator restored full power to our shelter, allowing us to operate at full capacity, continue caring for over 400 animals in our building, and support our community through operations like our twice-weekly Community Care Center,” said Scribner.
The mission also provided the Humane Society with additional resilience after utility power was restored. The Hawaiʻi National Guard generator remained available as a backup while the organization worked to repair its primary generator.
“Even after utility power was restored, the Hawaiʻi National Guard continued to provide a back-up generator support so our veterinarian team could safely and successfully proceed with animal surgeries with confidence,” said Scribner.
With repairs to the Humane Society’s primary generator completed, on Sept. 29, Hawaiʻi National Guard personnel disconnected and removed the generator.
“As we continue to recover from Hurricane Lowell, we are extremely grateful for all of the support we have received from the men and women of the Hawaiʻi National Guard, and for their presence and hard work during our time of need,” said Scribner.
The generator mission is one of several Hawaiʻi National Guard efforts supporting Kauaʻi following Hurricane Lowell. Hawaiʻi National Guard soldiers and airmen have worked alongside county and community partners on food distribution, traffic control, debris removal, transportation and other recovery missions.
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