If you’ve landed here after seeing “Kamuela” or “Waimea” mentioned in the news this week, welcome — you’re probably trying to figure out exactly where this place is and how it fits into the bigger picture of the Big Island right now.

So, Where Is Kamuela?

Kamuela is the postal name for Waimea, a small upcountry town in the South Kohala District, sitting at roughly 2,600 feet in the saddle between Mauna Kea and the Kohala Mountains. Locals use “Waimea” and “Kamuela” interchangeably — Kamuela (the Hawaiian form of “Samuel”) was adopted for the post office decades ago to avoid confusion with the other Waimea towns on Oʻahu and Kauaʻi.

It’s ranching country. Parker Ranch, one of the largest cattle ranches in the country, has its headquarters here, and the town has a cooler, greener, paniolo (cowboy) character that surprises a lot of first-time visitors expecting only lava fields and beaches. It straddles the dry-side/leeward slopes and the wet-side windward slopes, so you can pretty much pick your favorite climate and still be in Waimea.

Hurricane season is part of the picture too. Here’s my account of living off-grid through three of them in six weeks

How Kamuela Fared During Hurricane Lala

Hurricane Lala made its closest approach to the Big Island in mid-August, and the heaviest damage — flooding, road washouts, and widespread power outages — hit the Kaʻū and Puna districts on the island’s south and southeast sides. Waimea/Kamuela, sitting upcountry close to the north end, saw wind and rain but was not among the hardest-hit communities. Lots of people in Waimea lost power and internet, some for extended periods of time. The Board of Water Supply put out an island-wide request to use as little water as possible. Roads were impassable for a while, because of downed trees and power lines. But the county and the utility companies did a really good job of getting things under control very quickly.

That said, this is still a small, close-knit island, and plenty of our neighbors elsewhere on Hawaiʻi Island are dealing with real damage and ongoing recovery. If you’re local and were affected, or you’re looking for ways to help, here’s where to go.

Recovery Resources

Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense
The county’s central hub for alerts, road closures, and damage reporting.
Phone: (808) 935-0031
Report residential or commercial property damage: https://bit.ly/CDDisasterRecovery
To report agricultural damage, call the USDA Farm Service Agency: (808) 933-8334

Vibrant Hawaiʻi
Coordinating Points of Distribution (PODs) for water, hot meals, and supplies across affected districts.
Website: https://www.vibranthawaii.org/lala
Request for Assistance form: https://bit.ly/vh-rfa

Aloha United Way 211
A statewide clearinghouse for Lala-related shelter info, damage reporting tools, and financial assistance requests.
Website: https://auw211.org/hurricane-lala-disaster-response/

Salvation Army Hawaiian & Pacific Islands Division
Serving hot meals in high-impact areas, including the Kaʻū District shelters.

Hawaii Food Bank

There are also many smaller efforts to get supplies to the folks who need them, and sometimes checking Instagram or Facebook is your best bet for finding them. I’ve been watching as the good people at Mauna Kea Feed have been gathering supplies to haul down to Ka’u – you can follow them on Instagram. One thing that has struck me is that since many of the people who have been affected are elderly, SMALL water bottles – 1 gallon or so – would be very welcome. I can’t imagine anything more frustrating than being thirsty and unable to handle a 5 gallon bottle of water so that you can get something to drink!

If you’re planning to visit the Big Island soon, it’s worth checking the county’s parks and facilities closures page before you go, since some areas — particularly around Kaʻū — are still restoring road access:
https://www.parks.hawaiicounty.gov/facilities-parks/parks-and-facilities-closures

This post will be updated as recovery efforts continue.