The Aug. 8 fires in Kula started right behind Kyle Ellison’s house.
Though his home was saved, he and his family couldn’t live there because of smoke damage and ash. His house was professionally cleaned before they recently moved back in, five months after the fire.
However, they’re still battling ash dust.
“You open up an exterior closet and there's still ash in there," he said. "You go under your sink, there's still [ash]. The other day I was crawling under the house to get out a Tupperware lid, kind of dark under there, and I just don't even notice it and I just huffed a face full of ash.”
In October, ash samples in Kula showed elevated levels of arsenic, lead, and cobalt, according to the Department of Health.
Ellison said he’s still experiencing symptoms when he comes in contact with ash.
“Sure enough, it was scratchy throat, the tingling tongue," he explained.
"And you talk with people that are residing especially in West Maui, that are close to that burn zone. And [they’re] like, yeah, the tingling tongue. Yeah, the throat. The watering eyes.' Like, ‘Oh, I just breathed something that was not good.’”
Ellison said his nonprofit, Malama Kula, did independent air quality sampling. The results came back in the clear, but the wipe tests from inside the homes of some upcountry residents were more concerning.
“Those still came back with some heavy metal toxicity, zinc, lead," Ellison said. "Fact remains that there are still these heavy metals inside of people's houses when doing these wipes these wipe tests and they’re breathing that in.”
Rod Pa’ahana is a generational Lahaina resident who lives in Leiali’i. His neighborhood was spared from the fire. But now, his house is covered in dust.
“We’ve been cleaning for three, four months and now I’m doing deep cleaning, we’re HEPA-vaccing all the walls and everything, and then cleaning the walls and I’m going to repaint.”
But Pa’ahana said he’s just grateful his home still stands.
“I’m just glad to have a roof and a house. When I left and took a picture of the fire right behind my house, it was as high as coconut trees," he recalled. "So I thought for sure, gone. I was literally shocked to find it still standing.”
The DOH recommendations for ash management in homes haven’t changed since September. They advise using a wet cloth to wipe surfaces daily, along with regular mopping.
