Burned-down neighborhoods of Lahaina are seen with Kaanapali in the distance on Aug. 10. State officials said Thursday that they are eyeing an Oct. 8 reopening for Kaanapali northward. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
State officials said Thursday that they are looking to “reopen West Maui” from Kaanapali northward on Oct. 8.
Gov. Josh Green said the opening will come “fully recognizing that it won’t be open the way it was.”
“But we are trying to balance economic survival and people’s needs to have their jobs and do what they can to help their families as we rebuild and recover,” Green said Thursday afternoon during a virtual community webinar series hosted by the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.
He said businesses can open “to the extent that they can. Some people will have to ask the question, ‘do they have the infrastructure up and ready?’ There are some businesses that want us to actually open today or before.”
Green said Thursday that the plan to reopen is “likely to be announced” today, as he will address the state at noon to mark one month since the deadly Aug. 8 wildfires on Maui. At least 115 were killed in the Lahaina fire and more than 2,000 structures damaged. Another 19 homes were destroyed Upcountry. Portions of both Upcountry and West Maui continue to be under unsafe water advisories because of the fires.
A spokesperson for the governor on Thursday referred follow-up questions about Green’s plans to DBEDT.
In the days after the fires, state and county officials initially told people not to come to Maui because it wasn’t safe. They later asked for people to continue to visit Maui and support local businesses while avoiding the fire-impacted areas.
DBEDT Director James Kunane Tokioka said Thursday afternoon that there have been ongoing discussions on when to reopen West Maui, not including the Lahaina disaster area.
He said they have been talking to “many of the people that have been impacted,” including hotels, businesses, time shares and union members. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union alone has 2,700 members in West Maui, of which 1,700 were impacted by the fire.
Tokioka said many hotels are still housing their workers and many will continue to do so even after Oct. 8.
“We are certainly trying to find (housing) units for those employees as well,” Tokioka said. “Something more temporary-permanent where they have a kitchen, a parking space, grass, just the simple stuff like that.”
As for opening up rooms for visitors, Tokioka said hotels “are going to have to compare their inventory to the people that are in there now.”
“For the hotels, just because we say it’s open, it doesn’t mean that people are going to be jumping on the plane and flying to West Maui,” Tokioka said.
Some of the surveys that DBEDT has done indicate that people feel now is not the time to come to Maui because of the sensitivity of the issues, he said.
However, this may present a window for locals to help.
“I know a lot of people in the state of Hawaii want to help Maui,” Tokioka said. “This may be an opportunity for locals to support Maui by doing staycations.”
Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen could not be reached for comment on Thursday afternoon.
Green said during the webinar that he is looking at having a comprehensive recovery fund for survivors that will allow money to be disbursed directly to survivors rather than them waiting years for legal processes to be worked out. He said a similar fund was established for 9/11 victims.
“I don’t want people to suffer for great lengths of time and not rebuild their homes or keep their families here,” Green said.
* Staff Writer Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.
Burned-down neighborhoods of Lahaina are seen with Kaanapali in the distance on Aug. 10. State officials said Thursday that they are eyeing an Oct. 8 reopening for Kaanapali northward. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photoToday's breaking news and more in your inbox
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