Lahaina resident Ashley Kahahane remembers the first time she visited her home after the fire.
“I was dreading to walk to see it burned. And, you know, it was a hard time to come with the Samaritans and look through, sift through things, and pick up pieces that we never, ever gonna get back," she said.
Her house used to stand on her ‘ohana’s generational land near Puamana. Now, with their debris cleanup complete, the family is awaiting final word from the county that their property is ready for rebuilding.
“It's clear, we ready for come home. We ready for rebuild. And, you know, it's a light because it is clear, and go get our family back to where we need to be," Kahahane said, as her voice cracked.
Most residential sites have already been cleared. Neatly spread gravel indicates the debris cleanup process is done.
However, a lot of commercial properties are still untouched. There are piles of ashes, mangled metal, charred wood and half-toppled cement walls. Black smoke clings to peeling paint. Grass and weeds are growing up through the ash.
The rumble of debris cleanup equipment is a constant reminder of the work underway in Lahaina Town. Despite the ever-present sound of machinery, there’s a silence that transcends audible noise. A heaviness in the ashes.
At the former Spinnaker Apartment building, active cleanup is underway. Excavators scoop ash, cement and charred building materials into plastic-lined dump trucks. They carry the debris to the temporary disposal site in Olowalu.
“Now you see behind me trucks passing. That is the sound of progress here in Lahaina town today," said U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Col. Eric Swenson.
“I'm happy to report that we have successfully completed debris removal on 1,372 out of 1,399 residential properties here in Lahaina Town. We've also completed debris removal on 69 of 159 commercial properties in downtown Lahaina Town. And today, both residential and commercial debris removal are ongoing," he described.
So far, about 320,000 tons of fire debris have been cleared from Lahaina. Nearly 50 building permits have been issued by Maui County, with some already well underway.
Kari Alexander’s home is one of them. Located on Komo Mai Street, it has walls and a roof — and her family hopes to move in at the end of the year.
“I walk over here every day and look at the progress, and I'm excited. It gives us hope that everybody can do it. I mean, people across the street are now building, and up the street, there's foundations being poured," Alexander said.
The Kahahane ‘ohana was gifted shipping containers to build a temporary home so they could get back on their land.
“Right now, we just trying to work on, just getting something on the property so we can make it known that we are here, we're not going anywhere, and our family is here to stay," Kahahane said.
