© AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson
Pedestrians take pictures as traffic lights, street lights and buildings are without power along Kalakau Ave. and the rest of Honolulu, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2008, during an extensive blackout on the island. The island of Oahu lost power Friday evening in the midst of heavy rain and lightning, leaving some 800,000 residents and thousands of tourists in the dark, as well as the neighborhood where President-elect Barack Obama was vacationing.
Pedestrians take pictures as traffic lights, street lights and buildings are without power along Kalakau Ave. and the rest of Honolulu, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2008, during an extensive blackout on the island. The island of Oahu lost power Friday evening in the midst of heavy rain and lightning, leaving some 800,000 residents and thousands of tourists in the dark, as well as the neighborhood where President-elect Barack Obama was vacationing.
Residents were urged to stay home after the lights went out during a thunderstorm Friday evening and to conserve water.
Hawaiian Electric Co. spokeswoman Jan Loose said power had been restored to about 113,000 customers as 6 a.m., mostly on the west side of the island. The utility serves a total of 295,000 homes and businesses.
She said power to neighborhoods on the eastern shore, where Obama was staying with his family, would likely not be restored until later Saturday.
