Maui Wildfire Update – September 14 as of 2 p.m.
Aloha,
Here are the latest Maui wildfire news, updates, and resources you need to know.
Maui County outlined its plans for allowing re-entry to Lāhainā.
- Maui Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) interim Administrator Darryl Oliveira said property owners, tenants and occupants will be allowed to survey their property as early as Sept. 25. The first entry sites will be confirmed this afternoon and announced on Monday. Applications will be accepted starting Friday, Sept. 22.
- The goal is to help people gain closure. Oliveria said they are sensitive to making this process easy and safe and minimizing additional trauma to survivors.
- Officials will notify property owners, tenants and occupants based on zones the EPA has cleared and issue passes in advance. They will explain the process for re-entry and, on the day of the visit, provide personal protective equipment and accompany and support these individuals.
- Mental health professionals, faith-based resources and cultural practitioners will be on site.
- Escorted visits will be scheduled daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. After the first two days of escorted entry, eligible individuals can continue to visit their property independently.
- Updates and information will continue to be shared at MauiRecovers.org.
More West Maui businesses reopen as residents await their return to Lahaina.
- According to MEMA, the Environmental Protection Agency had cleared 464 properties of materials, including paint, batteries and propane tanks. Structural integrity inspections are also underway.
- Some residents are finding a small sense of normalcy and say the reopening of businesses is bittersweet, but many are anxious to return to their properties.
- Maui County Council’s Government Relations, Ethics and Transparency Committee encourages the public to submit testimony for its Sept. 18 and 27 meetings to help develop a comprehensive recovery and resiliency plan in response to the August wildfires.
The Hawai‘i State Department of Education released a new online report showing progress toward reopening Lāhainā schools.
- DOE is tracking soil testing, air and water quality, and other criteria to safely reopen schools for students and staff of Lāhaināluna High, Lāhainā Intermediate, Princess Nāhi‘ena‘ena Elementary and King Kamehameha III Elementary.
- The West Maui schools anticipate reopening on Oct. 13. King Kamehameha III Elementary students will temporarily attend Princess Nāhi‘ena‘ena Elementary.
- A temporary distance-learning hub in Lāhainā will be available for displaced students starting next Tuesday.
- As of Sept. 13, officials said more than 800 displaced students are re-enrolled at other public schools.
Hawaiian Electric and state energy officials have been invited to testify before a U.S. House Committee investigating the wildfires.
- Shelee Kimura, president and CEO of Hawaiian Electric, will testify. Leodoloff R. Asuncion, Jr., chairperson of the PUC, and Mark B. Glick, the state’s chief energy officer, have also been invited to testify at the hearing.
- The heads of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations said, “we seek a fuller understanding of the role, if any, of the electric infrastructure in this tragic event.”
- Locally, the Hawai‘i Public Utilities Commission sent a nine-page letter to Hawaiian Electric seeking detailed information about its insurance coverage, proposed a plan to strengthen its electric grids to mitigate risks associated with climate change and more.
In other news about support for Maui and how you can help…
- Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design and PAʻI Foundation have partnered to host Concert by the Sea, a one-night fundraising event for the people of Maui at Shangri La. Proceeds will support individuals and cultural organizations impacted by the August fires on Maui.
- Civil Beat is establishing a Maui bureau with four reporters exclusively dedicated to covering the immediate and long-term impacts of the wildfires.
- More than 50 University of Hawai‘i athletes traveled to Maui to help at four venues for the Maui wildfire relief efforts.
- Fire survivors find peace and healing in the ocean. Jud Lau and other board shapers on Maui volunteered to sculpt new custom surfboards for impacted Lāhainā residents.
Mahalo nui loa,
Your BG Team