Gov. Josh Green on Friday announced the completion of an emergency access route prior to the reopening of Princess Nahienaena Elementary, Lahaina Intermediate and Lahainaluna High schools to students next week.
“The community stressed the importance of reopening for our Lahaina keiki,” Green said in a statement. “Having a mass evacuation route available hopefully will provide reassurance to students, parents, caregivers, and West Maui faculty and staff.”
The emergency access route runs approximately 2.5 miles from the Lahainaluna fire lane to the Lahaina Bypass and was created by the state Department of Transportation at an estimated cost of $550,000. A second phase under construction will add access points at Hookahua Street and on Lahainaluna Road.
School officials, the Maui Police Department, Maui Fire Department and DOT have keys to the gates, which are expected to be opened during an emergency evacuation.
State schools Superintendent Keith Hayashi said in a statement, “We greatly appreciate the support from the Department of Transportation, private landowners and Governor Green in prioritizing the safety of our Lahaina school communities as we prepare to reopen to students next week. We are incorporating the emergency access route into our school action plans to ensure our campuses are prepared should a mass evacuation of the area be necessary.”
School staff returned Oct. 6. Lahainaluna High students are scheduled to return Monday, followed by Lahaina Intermediate students on Tuesday and King Kamehameha III and Princess Nahienaena Elementary students on Wednesday.
Green also announced that the state Department of Human Services and Maui Economic Opportunity Inc. will accept applications beginning Friday for the $100 million Maui Relief Temporary Assistance to provide up to four months of financial support for families who were directly affected by the Aug. 8 wildfires.
The program is designed to provide financial support for housing, vehicle payments, utilities, clothing and school supplies for school-age children.
It is separate from the ongoing TANF cash assistance benefit, Green’s office said.
“The families impacted by the Maui wildfires continue to need our help,” Green said in a statement. “The necessities families struggle to pay for on a day-to-day basis can become insurmountable after a disaster. The $100 million we secured for the Maui Relief TANF Program will relieve the burden of some of these critical financial needs.”
To be eligible, family must have experienced property loss or damage, or reduction of earnings or employment, and meet income eligibility guidelines.
Survivors are encouraged to apply for Federal Emergency Management Agency Individual Assistance prior to applying for the Maui Relief TANF Program. DHS said it wants to ensure families maximize available disaster relief efforts.
The EPA also announced that on Thursday it began applying a soil stabilizer on the ash and debris of burned buildings and burned vehicles with damaged lead-acid batteries to help control the spread of toxic soil.
It said returning Lahaina residents should wait 24 hours after the applications before visiting their property.
EPA crews applied the first soil stabilizer on a half-acre residential property in Zone 6-C to “fine-tune our operations and ensure the crews understand the application process,” the EPA said in a statement.
They then moved on to four other zones near the schools from Lahainaluna Road toward Kahoma Stream on Friday and will continue today to reduce potential exposure to schoolchildren when they begin going back to school next week.
The soil stabilizer also is intended to reduce the spread of contaminated ash to water and other areas — and already has been applied in the Kula fire zone.
EPA officials said it will not be applied to cultural resources, standing walls of historical structures, other walls and areas known to have contained cultural artifacts or ancestral ashes.
In response to community concerns, the EPA also said that feeding stations for feral cats will be moved before applying soil stabilizer.
Also on Friday it was announced that two more areas of the Lahaina burn zone — Aholo Road and Aulike and Leoleo streets — are scheduled to reopen to evacuated residents beginning Monday.
The first Lahaina residents who lived along Kaniau Road were given passes and allowed in beginning Sept. 25.
The areas to open Monday are called 14-C and 14-D.
Two vehicle passes will be available per property owner, and two per rental dwelling, at the Lahaina Civic Center and at the County of Maui Kalana o Maui building lobby again today.
Residents must document that they lived in each zone, such as by providing a utility bill or driver’s license.
Like the first residents to return, the next group will be offered optional personal protective equipment.
Officials plan to provide water, shade, washing stations, portable toilets and medical and mental health care Monday and Tuesday, along with language assistance and MauiBus transportation from local hotel shelters.
