Federal authorities have started removing hazardous materials from the Maui wildfires and laying the groundwork to dispose of burnt cars, buildings and other debris.
Its been over two weeks since wildfires in Maui that killed at least 115 people and left an unknown number of others missing, making them the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century. Officials are turning some of the focus to support the growing mental health needs of residents traumatized by the fires. LiveNOW's Carel Lajara spoke with Dr. Kelly Harnick, a board certified psychologist at the West Maui Counseling Center about overcoming mental health hurdles ahead.
"This will be the most complex fire response to date," said Corps’ debris subject matter expert Cory Koger, who since 2017 has responded to cleanups of seven wildfires sites"We need to expedite the cleanup for a number of reasons. One, they’re still residents living within the area. There are businesses still functional ... That’s a public health issue," Koger continued, adding that there are also significant "cultural concerns" associated with the debris removal.
"Lahaina has a huge cultural and historic significance. We have to work with great precision, care and respect," Calanog said. "And then, of course, the death toll. There’s considerable loss of life. Those are unique facets that make this work particularly challenging for us." As of Sept. 29, the EPA had completed cleanup on over 1,000 of the 1,598 parcels that need to be cleared across Maui. All parcels cleared so far are residential properties, and the agency expects to finish the remaining residential sites in the coming weeks. It started work on the first of about 150 commercial parcels, which officials acknowledge will take longer.
The Corps said plans are being worked out to move debris to a temporary site then eventually to permanent disposal sites in Maui County. Some of the concrete and metal would be recycled.
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