Monday, September 25, 2023

Today, Lahaina residents living on Kaniau Road were allowed into their neighborhood to see what’s left of their homes for the first time since the August 8, 2023 fire that destroyed the historic Maui, Hawaii town.

This week marks the beginning of Maui County’s systematic plan to allow residents re-entry into sections of the town hardest hit by the fire. For the last six weeks, these neighborhoods and the commercial areas of Lahaina have been off limits -fenced off and patrolled by National Guard troops to allow for fire mop-up operations and hazardous materials assessment and clean-up.

At a public informational meeting in Lahaina Friday, U.S. Environmental Agency Incident Commander Steve Calanog told residents his agency is about fifty percent finished with initial assessments and removal. That cleared the way for about 25 or so residents to come back to Kaniau Road to grieve, salvage whatever might have survived the fire, and maybe start to get some closure.

Chuck Hogan lives in this neighborhood. He said his is one of about five homes on this sliver of a street that survived the inferno.

Lahaina resident Chuck Hogan and I’ilani, who belongs to a neighbor whose home burned down in the fire. Hogan is caring for the bird while the neighbor is in temporary housing.

“My house is directly behind the church over here. So I came back in the day after and drove through the neighborhood,” he explained to reporters covering today’s re-entry in a controlled area at the intersection of Kaniau and Highway 30, just outside the neighborhood. “The telephone poles were in the street smoldering, and there were burned-out cars that looked kinda like Front Street where all the cars were jammed up and burned. And I’ve been up here since. And, you know, I’m lucky. Nothing happened at all to my house.”

Hogan said he doesn’t have water or electricity at the moment. He said it’s been a little lonely, too.

“It’s nice to have some people in the neighborhood. It’s been completely empty since this happened,” Hogan said. He said this day has been full of emotion.

“The mood is grim, maybe for some of them,” he said. “It was worse the day after (the fire) because there were a fair amount of people that did come back in before they got the guard people in here. There were people crying. Sobbing,” he trailed off, getting teary as he recalled that day. “Sorry, I get a little choked up sometimes about it, just, just because it’s just so horrible.”

Hogan, who is a contractor, believes it was sheer luck in the form of a subtle shift in the wind direction that his home was spared.

In the six weeks since the fire, Hogan said he continued to go to work and to live as normal a life as possible.

“I’ve kind of gotten used to the view. On one side of my house, it appears the same as it’s always been,” he explained. “When I go out on the other side. I don’t want to sound insensitive here or anything, but to me, it looks like pictures of Hiroshima or Nagasaki. There’s nothing left but the concrete block walls. Everything else is ash, all the trees are ash, everything’s just, you know, gone.”

Hogan isn’t too worried about that ash, despite warnings last week from State Health Director Dr. Kenneth Fink. At an informational meeting held by Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen Friday, Fink explained the existing dangers.

“Treat the ash as toxic,” he said. “Wear goggles, masks, and gloves.” He said officials would be available at the entry points to help residents properly dispose of the PPE after their visits. Fink said the ash will likely contain chemicals such as arsenic, lead, and asbestos, which can cause health issues with prolonged contact. He also warned that when the ash is disturbed, those particulates can become airborne and affect air quality.

Hogan isn’t too concerned about that. He says he feels safe because of the general wind direction in his area.

“I do because normally the wind is coming from this direction,” he points to the North. “It’s not coming across the burn zone unless it switches to Kona (south) winds, which then would bring it that way. I’ve got all Formica countertops in the house, so I check them every day. I’ll put my finger across, and so far, they’ve been relatively clean, so I’m not too worried about it yet. I’ll be a little bit more worried when they actually start to go in and, you know, clear everything off, and then the debris is going to start really kind of get queued up into the air.” Hogan said he might have to vacate his home temporarily when that happens.

Maui County Emergency Management Administrator Darryl Oliveira said the first look at a destroyed home after a fire can be more than jarring.

“I think initially, you know, people who haven’t been in here, since a fire are taken aback by the amount of extent of the destruction,” he said. “But I think overall, they came in prepared. We know that for others, especially those who have unaccounted for loved ones, or who may have lost family members, it’s going to be different and maybe more difficult.”

As more neighborhoods are deemed safe, they will be opened to residents, who must show proof of residency and apply for a re-entry permit. Oliveira said the county will announce the next neighborhood to be re-opened at the end of the week.