Maui Residents Fear Towns Safety

Daniel Skousen evacuates his house after a fire damaged it in Lahaina, Hawaii on November 3rd. Skousen said he won't thoroughly clean his house until the Environmental Protection Agency clears all the debris from the burned house next door. Assistant Press

When Daniel Skousen swept away the ash and soot covering his Maui home, the smell bothered him.

What chemical is responsible for the smell of burning trash cans since the devastating Lahaina fire in August? Should she trust government officials' estimates of when the air, land, and water will be safe enough for her family?

Or will political and economic pressure to rebuild and rebuild a robust tourism industry on Maui, where visitors typically spend $14 million a day, force officials to view test results through tinted glasses?

"It seems very important for them to get back the tourism tax revenue," Skousen said. "You wonder if the test will be biased."

The fire blew out Skousen's windows and filled his house with ash, but the building is still standing and he hopes to return there one day. The house next door has been demolished.

The Lahaina Fire from the November 3 fire in Lahaina, Hawaii. Assistant Press

Skousen wants to get a second opinion on the government's environmental impact assessment, preferably from an expert with an interest in the community. But raw data isn't easy to come by, and experts say the long-term health effects of wildfires like Lahaina are largely unknown. There is no national standard that dictates how clean a neighborhood fire-damaged home should be.

The August 8 fire killed at least 100 people and forced thousands to flee their homes. Two months later, nearly 7,000 people are still in emergency shelters.

Remaining debris includes electrical wires, plastic pipes and car tires, which emit dangerous dioxins when burned; Lead from melted vehicles or used household paints; and arsenic-containing ash from anti-termite building materials.

After a massive wildfire burned 1,000 homes in Boulder County, Colorado in 2021, health officials learned that even professionally renovated homes are often contaminated with ash, coal and other toxins long after the fire. . Program Coordinator.

The reason? Strong winds like the Maui wildfires this summer blow fine particles into every crack, Hayes said. These particles remain on window panes, behind light switches, in roof shingles and elsewhere until strong winds blow and re-contaminate the home.

"Coal is a carcinogen, so we would never say that particulate matter at this level is safe," Hayes said. "This presents a clear challenge: determining what level is clear enough?"

State and federal authorities regularly release updated information on the relative safety of Lahaina. Water is still not potable in most parts of the city and visitors are advised to wear protective clothing in affected areas. Officials said pregnant women and children should avoid burned areas, although the Hawaii Department of Education said schools above the burned part of the city are safe.

Teams installed air quality monitors across the city and sprayed the ground to prevent toxic ash from entering the ocean or air.

An attorney representing Skousen and about two dozen Lahaina residents filed a public records request with the Environmental Protection Agency last month seeking all records related to Lahaina's residential tests of pollutants and their effects on human health.

The EPA's response, sent earlier this month, was less conclusive: "We have not found any records that match your request."

Environmental Protection Agency spokeswoman Kellen Ashford told The Associated Press that the agency has conducted some tests of environmental hazards in the area of ​​the fire, but only to determine the immediate risk to workers involved in initial cleanup efforts.

He referred additional questions about testing by the Hawaii Department of Health, which he said is responsible for determining the long-term safety of residents.

The Hawaii Department of Health's Division of Environmental Health also told Skousen's attorneys there was no documentation of home testing for released contaminants.

The health ministry declined an interview request. Spokesman Sean Hamamoto said in an email that the department will conduct additional air and ash quality testing as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers begins cleaning up the Lahaina debris.

"I think they were playing hide and seek," said Skousen's attorney Edward Neiger. "The question is, why do they feel the need to hide something?"

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