Air monitoring and sampling will increase in Lahaina and Olowalu as Phase II fire debris removal continues.
The Hawaiʻi Department of Health said it’s to ensure air quality isn’t impacted by the clean-up process.
Similar sampling was conducted in Kula and found debris removal did not significantly impact air quality.
"It's important to remember that air monitoring and sampling are indicative of the ambient air quality at the time the samples were collected," Deputy Director for Environmental Health Kathleen Ho said in a statement.
"When in an impacted area, where cleanup activities could cause hazardous dust and ash to become airborne and exposure risk may be high, people should wear a well-fitting N95 or higher-rated mask and other personal protective equipment," Ho continued.
Currently, there are a total of 40 real-time air monitors and air samplers in Lahaina and Olowalu. The monitors measure particulate matter that is 0.0025 millimeters and smaller in size — about 30 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair — that can be a component of ash, dust, smoke and air pollution.
Data from the air monitors is available at fire.airnow.gov.
