50 Trucks Move Lahaina Debris to Maui Landfill for 5 Months

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    LAHAINA, Hawaii — In a significant operation starting next Monday, Maui County plans to deploy fifty trucks over five months to transport wildfire debris from Lahaina to a landfill situated in central Maui. This operation highlights the vast extent of devastation caused by the deadliest U.S. wildfire in over a hundred years, which resulted in the death of 102 people and left extensive areas of Lahaina in ruins. The volume of debris is large enough to fill the equivalent of five football fields stacked five stories high.

    The trucks are set to undertake multiple daily trips, transporting debris from Olowalu, a town just south of Lahaina, to the Central Maui Landfill, situated approximately 19 miles (30 kilometers) away. The haul route includes a segment of winding coastal highway with two lanes, but to alleviate traffic disruption, portions of the journey will be on former sugar cane plantation roads. For safety, all transportation operations will occur strictly during daytime hours.

    Earlier this year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers concluded the clearance of Lahaina properties. However, due to constraints, the debris needed temporary storage at a former quarry in Olowalu, on land owned by the state. A longer-term solution was sought, leading to the Maui County Council’s decision in December to acquire adjacent private land beside Maui’s current landfill for a permanent disposal site.

    Debris disposal following large-scale wildfires presents a formidable logistical challenge. As a precedent, after the devastating 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, California, officials needed about a year to move over 300,000 truckloads of debris to three different landfills. This experience provides certain insights into the task facing Maui County.

    According to county officials, an evaluation in collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Hawaii Department of Health concluded that the process of transporting and storing the debris at the landfill poses no public health risk. Measures such as wetting the debris before loading and wrapping it in thick plastic will manage dust concerns. The total weight of the debris is around 400,000 tons (363,000 metric tons).

    Residents in Olowalu have voiced concerns, fearing the debris might remain in their community indefinitely, potentially impacting Native Hawaiian shrines, ancient burial areas, and marine ecosystems nearby. However, most steel and concrete from the fire is slated for recycling. The debris destined for the landfill predominantly consists of ash and smaller particles, which have been tested by the state Department of Health and found to contain arsenic, lead, and other harmful substances.