Lahaina wildfire survivors updated on debris removal, survey results for final disposal site

Lahaina wildfire survivors were updated Wednesday at the Lahaina Civic Center on the US Army Corps of Engineers’ progress in removing ash and debris from residential properties destroyed Aug. 8. And, they learned public survey results on the final disposal site for debris from thousands of burned homes.

The final site selection will be announced March 1. Two West Maui sites are being considered, along with the Central Maui Landfill.

On Jan. 16, the Corps of Engineers began removal of Lahaina residential debris. Trucks have been hauling tons of plastic-wrapped debris daily to a temporary storage site in Olowalu.

US Army Corps of Engineers Col. Jesse Curry told wildfire survivors that the Olowalu temporary site is “performing as designed” to contain hazardous burned material. Efforts to limit traffic impacts on Honoapi‘ilani Highway are ongoing, he said.

Rain runoff from the site is channeled into a water retention basin where it is monitored and tested, he said. “We will continue to do that to protect the environment.”

Runoff from rains of 1-inch or more at Olowalu will be compared to baseline testing of water from a rainstorm that impacted the area on Jan. 9, about a week before Lahaina debris removal began, he said.

As of Wednesday, debris removal had been completed at 149 properties, with 134 of those properties awaiting test results and erosion control measures, Curry said. Eventually, landowners will get letters certifying that their properties are clear of fire debris and ash, and they can apply for county permits to rebuild.

Curry shared a time-lapse video (below) that showed the debris removal process at a residence. It ends with the property cleared, including removal of its foundation and 6 inches of soil underneath it. Other information about fire debris removal is available at mauirecovers.org.

“There is a long road ahead, but we have made a tremendous start,” Curry said.

In a follow-up to a Jan. 31 community meeting, residents also heard the results of two community surveys from Bob Schmidt, deputy director of the Department of Environmental Management, and staff member Sarah Jenkins. The surveys were not designed to show community preference for one of the three potential sites being considered for final disposal of fire ash and debris.

Those include two West Maui sites in Wahikuli, one mauka of the Wahikuli housing subdivision, and Crater Village, which comprises more than 500 acres located mauka of Wahikuli and north of public schools in Lahaina. The third is the Central Maui Landfill, located 25 miles and a 40-minute drive away from Lahaina.

The surveys aimed to understand the community’s values for a final disposal site, and officials pledged to include public input among all the factors weighed in making the ultimate decision for a location.

The two surveys were conducted with consultant Anthology. There were 430 respondents in a random sample, scientific survey done by phone and email. A public survey, conducted Jan. 31 to Feb. 15., drew 2,327 respondents. Anyone with a link to the online survey site could participate.

Most of the participants (56%) on the publicly available survey were West Maui residents, followed by residents from Central Maui (17%), Upcountry (12%), South Maui (8%), Pāʻia-Haʻikū (5%) and East Maui (less than 1%). In the scientific survey, Central Maui residents accounted for 32%, followed by West Maui residents (21%), followed by Upcountry (20%) South Maui (15%), Pāʻia-Haʻikū (9%) and East Maui (2%).

Other survey takeaways:

• 78% of respondents to both surveys identified as being lifetime Maui residents (20 years or more)
• 49% of respondents to the public survey said they were directly impacted by the fires
• 31% of respondents to the scientific survey said the most important criteria was “safe distance from natural/environmental features”; 28% of the public survey respondents had the same answer
• 34% of the public survey respondents rated as most important a “buffer zone between the disposal site and residential areas, schools, hospitals, etc.”; 28% of scientific survey respondents had the same answer
• 11% of public survey participants said most important was “recommendations from subject matter experts”; 10% of scientific survey respondents agreed
• 11% of public survey respondents said most important would be consideration of public input; 9% of scientific survey participants had the same response
• 10% of scientific survey respondents said most important was “concerns about cultural resources”; 4% of public survey participants gave the same response

Important criteria considerations gaining single-digit responses in both surveys included: how long it will take to make a site ready to receive debris; and increase in traffic congestion and road safety concerns when trucking debris.

The full video of Wednesday’s meeting, courtesy the County of Maui is available for viewing below: