Current:Home > MyResidents prepare to return to sites of homes demolished in Lahaina wildfire 7 weeks ago-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Residents prepare to return to sites of homes demolished in Lahaina wildfire 7 weeks ago
View Date:2024-12-24 00:15:23
HONOLULU (AP) — From just outside the burn zone in Lahaina, Jes Claydon can see the ruins of the rental home where she lived for 13 years and raised three children. Little remains recognizable beyond the jars of sea glass that stood outside the front door.
On Monday, officials will begin lifting restrictions on entry to the area, and Claydon hopes to collect those jars and any other mementos she might find.
“I want the freedom to just be there and absorb what happened,” Claydon said. “Whatever I might find, even if it’s just those jars of sea glass, I’m looking forward to taking it. ... It’s a piece of home.”
Authorities will begin allowing the first residents and property owners to return to their properties in the burn zone, many for the first time since it was demolished nearly seven weeks ago, on Aug. 8, by the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century.
The prospect of returning has stirred strong emotions in residents who fled in vehicles or on foot as the wind-whipped flames raced across Lahaina, the historic capital of the former Hawaiian kingdom, and overcame people stuck in traffic trying to escape. Some survivors jumped over a sea wall and sheltered in the waves as hot black smoke blotted out the sun. The wildfire killed at least 97 people and destroyed more than 2,000 buildings, most of them homes.
Claydon’s home was a single-story cinderblock house painted a reddish-tan, similar to the red dirt in Lahaina. She can see the property from a National Guard blockade that has kept unauthorized people out of the burn zone. A few of the walls are still standing, and some green lawn remains, she said.
Authorities have divided the burned area into 17 zones and dozens of sub-zones. Residents or property owners of the first to be cleared for reentry — known as Zone 1C, along Kaniau Road in the north part of Lahaina — will be allowed to return on supervised visits Monday and Tuesday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Those eligible could pick up passes from Friday to Sunday in advance.
Darryl Oliveira, interim administrator of the Maui Emergency Management Agency, said officials also want to ensure that they have the space and privacy to reflect or grieve as they see fit.
“They anticipate some people will only want to go for a very short period of time, a few minutes to say goodbye in a way to their property,” Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said last week. “Others may want to stay several hours. They’re going to be very accommodating.”
Those returning will be provided water, shade, washing stations, portable toilets, medical and mental health care, and transportation assistance if needed. Nonprofit groups are also offering personal protective equipment, including masks and coveralls. Officials have warned that ash could contain asbestos, lead, arsenic or other toxins.
While some residents, like Claydon, might be eager to find jewelry, photographs or other tokens of their life before the fire, officials are urging them not to sift through the ashes for fear of raising toxic dust that could endanger them or their neighbors downwind.
veryGood! (76)
Related
- Why have wildfires been erupting across the East Coast this fall?
- The crypto industry is in the dumps. So why is bitcoin suddenly flying high?
- The holidays are here. So is record credit card debt. How 6 Americans are coping.
- In GOP’s proposed Georgia congressional map, a key question is which voters are legally protected
- Florida Man Arrested for Cold Case Double Murder Almost 50 Years Later
- Remains found in Indiana in 1982 identified as those of Wisconsin woman who vanished at age 20
- Jeannie Mai Says She Found Out About Jeezy Divorce Filing With the Rest of the World
- French lawmakers approve bill to ban disposable e-cigarettes to protect youth drawn to their flavors
- Suspect in deadly 2023 Atlanta shooting is deemed not competent to stand trial
- Video shows elderly 17-year-old Shih Tzu rescued from air vent in Virginia home: Watch
Ranking
- Judith Jamison, acclaimed Alvin Ailey American dancer and director, dead at 81
- Colorado coach Deion Sanders in market for 'portal QBs, plural' as transfer portal opens
- Notre Dame trustees select Robert Dowd as university’s 18th president
- Victim's father gives emotional testimony at trial of serial killer's widow: Trauma and sadness
- Martin Scorsese on faith in filmmaking, ‘The Saints’ and what his next movie might be
- ‘That's authoritarianism’: Florida argues school libraries are for government messaging
- Students around the world suffered huge learning setbacks during the pandemic, study finds
- The Excerpt podcast: Israel expands ground offensive in Gaza, impeachment probe update
Recommendation
-
Tom Brady Shares How He's Preparing for Son Jack to Be a Stud
-
NHL Stanley Cup playoff bracket: League standings, potential first-round matchups
-
Supreme Court wrestles with legal shield for Sackler family in Purdue Pharma bankruptcy plan
-
Wikipedia, wrapped. Here are 2023’s most-viewed articles on the internet’s encyclopedia
-
Republican Scott Baugh concedes to Democrat Dave Min in critical California House race
-
Top players in the college football transfer portal? We’re tracking them all day long
-
Tyler Goodson, Alabama man featured in 'S-Town' podcast, shot to death during police standoff
-
International Ice Hockey Federation to mandate neck guards after the death of a player by skate cut