Fire forces mail at Hanamaulu to move to Lihue

About 300 customers of the Hana­ma­ulu Post Office will need to collect their mail at the Lihue Post Office counter after a fire destroyed the Hana­ma­‘ulu Trading Co.

U.S. Postal Service spokes­man Duke Gonzales said post office boxes are being set up in Lihue for affected Hana­ma­ulu customers, but the process will take a few weeks. "We apologize for the inconvenience that this is causing to our customers," Gonzales said.

A fire destroyed Hana­ma­‘ulu Trading Co. on Friday afternoon. The wooden, two-story building on Kuhio Highway housed the post office, retail and office spaces, a church, a beauty salon, a beauty shop and variety stores. Damage to the building and its contents was estimated at $1.2 million. The cause of the fire remained under investigation Monday.

Gonzales said a couple of hundred of pieces of mail were salvaged from the Hana­ma­ulu branch and will be sent to customers.

In July 2011 the Hana­ma­ulu Post Office was one of four post offices in the state placed on a list for possible closure before a moratorium on closures was announced.