Maui County officials select final disposal site for debris from Lahaina wildfire

2024-12-25 22:18:36 source:is lotradecoin safe for beginners category:Invest

HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii officials plan to send debris and ash from the August wildfire that destroyed Lahaina town to Maui’s central landfill.

Maui County officials said Wednesday that they picked the permanent disposal site in Kahului over two others that are closer to Lahaina, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.

The deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century killed 101 people and destroyed 3,000 properties, leaving behind burned cars, charred beams and toxic ash. Officials estimate the debris will fill 400,000 truckloads, which is roughly enough to cover five football fields five stories high.

Shayne Agawa, director of the county’s Department of Environmental Management, said officials evaluated potential sites for months and studied the results of two surveys that received 2,757 responses.

READ MORE A wildfire scorching the Texas Panhandle has grown to the largest in state history A Texas town picks through the rubble of Panhandle fires, 10 years after another destructive blaze Why did the Texas Panhandle fires grow so fast?

The Central Maui Landfill has the advantage of being far from populated areas and officials don’t believe material deposited there will contaminate drinking water supplies.

The landfill will have to expand to accommodate the new debris. It’s also 26 miles (42 kilometers) from Lahaina and the trucks making the trip are expected to add to traffic. Agawa said officials plan to use old sugar cane plantation roads for part of the trip to limit this effect.

The two other finalist sites were north of Lahaina, in the Wahikuli area and at Crater Village. The Wahikuli site is near residential areas and the coastline, while using the Crater Village site could have interfered with the drinking water.

Workers with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have already started removing debris and taking it to a temporary disposal site 5 miles (8 kilometers) south of Lahaina, in Olowalu.

Environmentalists raised concerns about storing debris there long-term, saying doing so could harm offshore coral reefs.

More:Invest

Recommend

Trump taps immigration hard

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trumpsaid Wednesday that he’s picking Kari Lakeas director

The Australian Open and what to know: Earlier start. Netflix curse? Osaka’s back. Nadal’s not

Iga Swiatek seemed to capture the general sentiment of Australian Open players toward the tournament

Justin Timberlake announces free surprise concert in Memphis: 'Going home'

Justin Timberlake is going home to Memphis.The Tennessee-born pop star has announced a rare, intimat