HONOLULU (KHON2) — A major sweep at Diamond Head cleared dozens of people off the mountainside on April 25.
It is part of ongoing efforts by state and city agencies to address a complicated and persistent problem.
“But around 100 people were habitating in that area, and I could only imagine the concern from the community. There were fire concerns, there were drug concerns, there were loose dog concerns,” said Department of Law Enforcement Director Mike Lambert.
Outreach teams were stationed at Triangle Park to offer services for those who were displaced.
“And this is the best outcome. The mountain is clear. We were able to get compliance and people were given an opportunity to improve their situation,” Lambert said.
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No one was arrested during the sweep, but the challenge is not over. The difficult terrain and back-and-forth over state versus city jurisdiction can complicate the issue.
“We’re going to be doing additional patrols for the next couple of days to try to keep people out of here. But this is a big mountain. If you’re familiar with it, there’s all kinds of ways, it’s porous. So beyond putting up some sort of impenetrable barrier, there’s not a whole lot we can do other than occasionally moving people off,” said DLNR spokesman Dan Dennison. “But without the political will and the funding to do something, these cleanups are going to continue unabated for for many months, if not years to come.”
A long-term solution for the area is still being worked on even though a fence around the entire mountain is not feasible.
“It’s really difficult. So like I said, because this is a new approach, we’re going to be following up with enforcement because now it’s clear. So the goal would be to have enough presence both from the city and state to discourage people from moving back in,” Lambert said.
Officials said joint efforts between the DLNR, DLE and HPD will happen more often in future sweeps.