Nearly all wildfire-impacted Lahaina residential properties cleared of ash and debris

As of Friday, 1,372 residential properties in Lahaina had been cleared of ash and debris, representing 98% of the homes destroyed in the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfire disaster, according to Col. Eric Swenson, Maui Wildfires Recovery Field Office commander with the US Army Corps of Engineers.

“We are working very rapidly to get the last 25 or so properties cleared of debris,” he said during a media tour Friday of the Lahaina burn zone.

As for properties ready for homeowners to apply for building permits, the percentage of complete, with a capital “C,” was 83% as of Friday, Swenson said.

The Corps had cleared 69 of 159 properties so far, he said.

Swenson said the process of getting properties ready for rebuilding includes clearing debris and ash from a foundation, including any metal vehicles. Then, there’s soil testing that gets sent to a lab on the continental US.

The testing is looking for contaminants such as lead, which is the toxic substance most commonly found probably of old waterline pipes that were disconnected but not fully removed by the property owner, he said.

If a toxic substance is found, the spot is located on the property and workers dig down another 6 inches for a total of 12 inches, he said. And, the spot is retested.

“We won’t take any more than 12 inches (of soil), and that’s because this is an old community and there are things that were buried here of cultural significance, and we do not want to unearth those,” Swenson said.

When soil test results come back negative, then a property is scheduled for erosion control, he said.

Workers use clean, crushed gravel from the island to put down a surface a couple of inches thick, he said. That helps keep the soil down in case of wind or rain.

“We don’t want that soil to wash into the storm drains and ultimately wash into the ocean,” he said. Then, there’s a final inspection to ensure nothing’s been missed.

“We check off on it,” Swenson said, and paperwork goes to Maui County for posting on the Mauirecovers.org website.

Residents can go to the website, type in their address and see if their packet is ready with the information they need to 4LEAF, which is under a three-year, $16 million contract to help Maui County process permits for rebuilding homes and businesses in Lahaina and Upcountry.

The company is processing Disaster Recovery Building Permits. These are for alterations, repairs, reconstruction and new construction of structures on parcels affected by a disaster or civil defense emergency. 4LEAF representatives are staffing the Recovery Permit Center to help guide residents through the expedited process.

Clearing commercial properties can be more difficult because they are often 1, 2, 3 or 4 acres, whereas a residential property might be a quarter or a third of an acre, he said.

When asked what’s been the most challenging property to clear, so far, Swenson said that was the Front Street site of Kamehameha III Elementary School, now temporarily located at the Pulelehua project area near Kapalua Airport.

It’s a large property near the ocean and within Lahaina’s historic district, the former Kingdom of Hawaiʻi.

“There’s a lot of things of cultural significance buried in and around that facility,” he said. “So we are working very closely with the State Historic Preservation Division (an archaeological monitor) to make sure that we respectfully remove debris from the site.”

Numerous Hawaiian burials have been found at the elementary school site.

For commercial sites, the most difficult so far has been the former 505 Front Street Shops & Restaurants. The oceanfront property’s below-street-level parking lot was found full of water after the wildfire.

The property is near wetlands in the vicinity of Mokuhinia Pond, which had been 14 to 17 acres filled with freshwater from underground springs surrounding the sacred island of Moku‘ula, a former sandbar that had served as a royal compound for the Pi‘ilani family of chiefs from the 16th century.

Swenson said the wetlands are ecologically significant fishponds and a source of natural fresh water. The parking garage had a water pump that operated 24 hours a day, but after the fire the pump no longer worked, and “so that parking garage is full of natural spring water,” he said. “So that’s gonna make it more complicated for us to do the debris removal. We’re gonna have to safely remove that water and keep that water out.”

Meanwhile, the parking garage on top was damaged by the fire, and it will need to be removed. “So it is a very complicated mission,” Swenson said. “But we have a wonderful contractor and many local community members who are here helping us with our demolition plan. …I’m confident that we will be able to get that done in a timely matter.”

When asked whether 505 Front Street should ever been constructed on wetlands, Swenson said he couldn’t comment on that.

“There is groundwater penetration,” he said. “Goundwater runs underneath it and into that space, and I know there’s much interest at both the local and state level in trying to preserve the history of Moku‘ula, the fishponds, and that part of the community.”

But, “as far as the Corps of Engineers is concerned for this mission, we’re interested in safely removing the debris and allowing the community to heal,” he said.

The Honolulu District Office of the Army Corps of Engineers specializes in wetlands, wetlands restoration and other projects that deal with ground and surface water, he said. “So I know they’re interested in working with the community and partnering with both the community and the state.”