Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Maui's mayor says Lahaina debris site will be used temporarily until a permanent spot is found

Damaged property lies scattered in the aftermath of a wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii, Aug. 21, 2023. The mayor of the Hawaiian island of Maui said Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024, that a site selected to hold debris from last year's deadly wildfires that devastated the city of Lahaina will not store it permanently. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) Damaged property lies scattered in the aftermath of a wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii, Aug. 21, 2023. The mayor of the Hawaiian island of Maui said Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024, that a site selected to hold debris from last year's deadly wildfires that devastated the city of Lahaina will not store it permanently. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
Share
WAILUKU, Hawaii -

The mayor of the Hawaiian island of Maui said Thursday that a site selected to hold debris from last year's deadly wildfires that devastated the city of Lahaina will not store it permanently.

Instead the debris will be at the Olowalu site south of Lahaina only until a permanent spot is identified and a landfill built there, Mayor Richard Bissen said during a County Council committee meeting, according to a statement from his office.

Most of the steel and concrete left behind by the fire will be recycled. Much of the debris heading for the site will be ash and small particles, which state Department of Health tests have confirmed is laden with arsenic, lead and other toxins.

Some residents have objected to using the Olowalu site, and a protest was staged last week. Environmentalists have raised concerns because it's just 400 yards (365 meters) from the coast, where a reef hosts the largest known manta ray population in the U.S. and serves as a primary source of coral larvae for waters off Lanai, Molokai and West Maui.

Bissen said the temporary site is needed so the debris can be removed from Lahaina and residents can return to their properties and rebuild. About 6,000 survivors are still staying in hotels, unable so far to find new places to live in Maui's tight housing market.

Bissen said there is an estimated 400,00 cubic yards (305,000 cubic meters) of debris that needs to be removed, equivalent to five football fields stacked five stories high.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

British Columbia saw a rare unanimous vote in its legislature in October 2019, when members passed a law adopting the United Nations Declarations on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, setting out standards including free, prior and informed consent for actions affecting them.

A pedestrian has died after reportedly getting struck by an OPP cruiser in Bala early Sunday morning.

Two and a half years after losing her best friend and first love to suicide, Brooke Ford shared her story of grief and resilience at the CMHA Windsor-Essex Suicide Awareness Walk.

opinion

opinion How to make the most out of your TFSA

The Tax-Free Savings Account can be a powerful savings tool and investment vehicle. Financial contributor Christopher Liew explains how they work and how to take full advantage of them so you can reach your financial goals faster.

Local Spotlight

A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.

When a group of B.C. filmmakers set out on a small fishing boat near Powell River last week, they hoped to capture some video for a documentary on humpback whales. What happened next blew their minds.

A pizza chain in Edmonton claims to have the world's largest deliverable pizza.

Sarah McLachlan is returning to her hometown of Halifax in November.

Wayne MacKay is still playing basketball twice at Mount Allison University at 87 years old.

A man from a small rural Alberta town is making music that makes people laugh.

An Indigenous artist has a buyer-beware warning ahead of Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Police are looking to the public for help after thieves broke into a Lethbridge ice creamery, stealing from the store.

An ordinary day on the job delivering mail in East Elmwood quickly turned dramatic for Canada Post letter carrier Jared Plourde. A woman on his route was calling out in distress.