Hurricane Hone sweeps past Hawaii, dumping enough rain to ease wildfire fears [Video]

Hurricane Hone passed just south of Hawaii on Sunday, dumping so much rain that the National Weather Service called off its red flag warnings that strong winds could lead to wildfires on the drier sides of the islands.Related video above: FEMA pauses hundreds of projects as disaster relief fund runs lowHone (pronounced hoe-NEH) had top winds of 85 mph (140 kph) Sunday morning as it swirled slowly past the Big Island, centered about 45 miles (72 kilometers) off its southernmost point, according to Jon Jelsema, a senior forecaster at the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. He said tropical storm force winds were blowing across the island’s southeast-facing slopes, carrying up to a foot (30 centimeters) or more of rain.Floods closed Highway 11 between Kona and Hilo, and a higher-altitude alternative, the Cane Road, was closed by flooding as well, isolating properties like the Aikane Plantation Coffee Co. outside Pahala, where owner …