The Hawaiian government plans to send debris and ash from the August wildfire that destroyed the town of Lahaina to Maui’s central landfill.
Maui County officials said Wednesday they chose the permanent Kahului disposition over two others closer to Lahaina, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.
The deadliest wildfire in the U. S. In more than a century, the U. S. military has killed another 101 people and destroyed 3,000 properties, leaving burned-out cars, charred beams and poisonous ash. Authorities estimate that the debris will fill 400,000 trucks, which is enough to cover five-five-count football fields.
Shayne Agawa, director of the county’s environmental control department, said the government had been comparing potential sites for months and the effects of two surveys that garnered 2,757 responses.
Maui’s central landfill has the merit of being far from populated areas, and officials don’t believe the tissues deposited there will contaminate drinking water supplies.
The landfill will need to be expanded to accommodate the new debris. It is also 42 kilometers from Lahaina and trucks that do so are expected to get into traffic. Agawa said the government is contemplating using old sugarcane plantation roads for part of the project. to restrict this effect.
The other two finalists were north of Lahaina, in the Wahikuli domain and in Crater Village. Wahikuli is close to residential spaces and the coast, while the use of Crater Village may have interfered with drinking water.
U. S. Army Corps of Engineers WorkersThe U. S. Department of Homeland Security has already begun collecting the debris and transporting it to a temporary disposal site 8 kilometers south of Lahaina in Olowalu.
Environmentalists have raised concerns about the long-term accumulation of debris, saying it could damage coral reefs offshore.
Privacy PolicyTerms of UseSubscribe to Our NewslettersSite Map
Follow
MORE