As a powerful Kona storm tore across windward Oʻahu last Friday, Waimanalo farmer Claude Colton made a split-second call: open the gates. With pens collapsing under wind and flood, he released roughly 500 animals, sending cows, goats, llamas, pigs, and birds scrambling for higher ground while gusting winds and rising water reshaped the property.
Storm damage overwhelmed pens and pastures
Colton says about 500 animals - including cows, sheep, goats, llamas, donkeys, horses and pigs - scattered when their enclosures were damaged or destroyed. Some were left standing in about 3 feet of water as a three-acre pond ballooned to roughly 10 acres. Most of the farm’s feed kept in bins was wiped out, and Colton reported eight pot-bellied pigs found dead and a newborn calf that did not survive. The scope of the losses and damage is detailed by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Neighbors, family and quick thinking tracked animals
Once the animals were loose, the weekend turned into a neighborhood search party. Colton’s nephew rounded up 12 sheep and six lambs from hills about a mile away. Community members showed up with chainsaws to clear fallen trees, and three bulls were eventually tracked down and retrieved from forested slopes.
Not every rescue was straightforward. One surviving pot-bellied pig was discovered wedged into a feed bin, and a peacock had to be carefully freed after mud caked its feathers. Volunteers also dug into their own pockets, donating money and materials and helping haul feed and lumber to start rebuilding damaged pens.
University aid and a fundraiser are helping
“We had to swim for some of them,” Colton said, adding he “could barely walk forward,” according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. That report notes that the University of Hawaiʻi’s agriculture department and neighbors jumped in quickly, helping clear debris and donating feed and supplies.
To keep the animals fed and the rebuild moving, Colton has set up a fundraiser at bit.ly/415qefi to help cover feed, veterinary care and fencing.
Small farms face mounting weather risks
Colton’s roadside operation has long been a one-man, community-supported farm, with tight margins and occasional donations helping keep the lights on - and the animals fed. Those financial strains and the community support that has buoyed the farm over the years are well documented by Hawaii News Now.
More broadly, Hawaiʻi’s ranches and small farms are increasingly exposed to extreme and shifting weather, from drought to powerful kona lows, which local reporting and analysis have linked to higher operational risk for small producers. For wider context on those challenges, see Honolulu Civil Beat. Ahead of this storm, state weather watches from the National Weather Service warned of wind and flood threats across the islands, reflected in notices posted in the Maui County alert center.
What comes next for Colton Farms
For now, Colton and a rotating crew of volunteers are focused on the basics: replacing lost feed, patching fencing and pulling animals back into safer, repaired pens while the longer-term repair bill slowly comes into focus. Donations and extra hands are the most urgent needs as the farm tries to steady itself after a storm that officials had warned could bring damaging winds and flooding.
