HONOLULU (KHON2) — Some residents will get to return to Tahaina tomorrow. Kaniau Road in Zone 1-C is the first to be cleared by officials since the disaster seven weeks ago.
Over the weekend residents were able to pick up vehicle passes. Roughly 36 lots are in Zone 1C.
The County said picking up passes went smoothly over the weekend but some people were confused on which Zone they were in.
On the MauiRecoversdot.org website under re-entry, a map with different Zones pops up, click on the Zone you’re looking for and addresses will appear to show which ones are included.
“So this first Monday event will be to evaluate the resources we need to go bigger and go faster as well as when we get into areas that we know have structures that survived the fire and may be livable and we know residents can go back to their homes to live with exception they don’t have water or wastewater,” said Interim MEMA Director Darryl Oliveira.
On Monday officials will help residents find their parcel and be around for assistance.
For those who lost their homes, officials will be around to help.
‘They might have a memento or a certain thing of importance on ground so we’ll put volunteers there, and proper equipment to look and help the families,” Oliveira continued. ‘I cannot stress the dangerous out there, there’s a lot of debris on the private parcels that will be cleaned later, we want people to see their properties, bring them closure, and have that moment to grieve and bring closure.”
Some residents in Zone 1C opted out of seeing their properties at this time.
For those who are going home on Monday, health officials highly recommend wearing proper gear and clothing.
‘The ash should be treated as hazardous material these hazards can cause health conditions such as cancer, lung problems, and other health issues,” Dr. Kenny Fink DOH Director added.
Dr. Fink said it depends on how much exposure you have.
He added air quality tests have come back normal but if the ash is disturbed it can become airborne and should be treated as hazardous.
‘So protecting ourselves is covering our skin, goggles to cover our eyes, a mask to cover our mouth and make sure when we leave the area, we dispose of the potentially contaminated overalls and equipment and wash our hands and shampoo and get any remnants off of us so we don’t track it away from the site,” Dr. Fink told KHON2.
PPE was provided to residents during vehicle pass pick up.
Water, shade, washing stations, toilets and mental health care will be provided Monday and Tuesday.
The County will announce additional Zone re-openings on MauiRecovers dot.org
