Lāhainā fire survivors will soon be able to visit their homes, and more business areas in the historic town are reopening following last month's devastating wildfire.
Maui Emergency Management Administration Interim Administrator Darryl Oliveira discussed both reopenings at a Thursday news conference, saying that the goal is to facilitate the recovery of the Lāhainā community.
“As you know, yesterday we supported the reopening of businesses in the Lāhainā area. The intent there was to provide ease of access to essential goods and services for affected area residents. It was also done with the intent to provide employment or re-employment opportunities for residents affected by the fire who may have lost jobs,” Oliveira said at the news conference.
“The third piece to that was also to try to help step in a direction of somewhat normalcy for the community. The community is hurting, and we definitely respect and appreciate that. Some are also looking for hope that we are moving in a direction of getting back to normal.”
The two business zones were reopened Wednesday. One includes the Lāhainā Cannery Mall along Honoapiʻilani Highway. The other is a nearby business area along Kupuohi and Ulupono streets.
The zones include a Walgreens and the Lāhainā Gateway shopping center for residents.
Oliveira also discussed a plan to let residents back to their homes.
Teams led by Maui County will accompany owners and renters to their properties in the disaster area by zones. They will be able to retrieve personal belongings that survived the fire, take pictures and make assessments for insurance purposes or even for closure.
The county will identify which zones will be available for re-entry by early next week, by notifying property owners and tenants of those parcels.
Applications to re-enter will open on Friday, Sept. 22.
Residents will be able to spend a full day at their property. Oliveira said the decision was based on discussions with groups in other disaster-stricken areas.
“They say they've spent, on average, less than half a day with a resident trying to identify their property, trying to get closure. But we know that, here in Hawaiʻi, we're very connected to our home,” Oliveira said.
“I don't want to limit the time that people have, (and want to) respect that on your first visit, it may be hard to stay. But then, as you develop and prepare a better understanding, you can come back again and spend a longer time as well as bring other family members that you may have that you couldn't bring in.”
For updates on re-entry from the county, click here.
