A task force set up by Mayor Mitch Roth to kokua Maui in its recovery from the destructive fires that swept through Lahaina and other areas of Valley Isle held its inaugural meeting Thursday afternoon.
The Hawaii County Task Force for Maui County Recovery Assistance is, according to Roth, comprised of a diverse range of experts and personnel from various county departments, the County Council, and partner organizations.
The task force will focus on areas such as infrastructure and utility restoration, housing and shelter assistance, economic recovery and small business support, and food and sustenance support.
Cyrus Johnasen, an executive assistant and Roth’s spokesman, is chairing the task force. He said the initial focus will be to try to house displaced Maui residents who are willing to relocate to the Big Island, at least temporarily.
“We want to focus on trying to get some of these displaced families some housing options on our island, so we’re working with the West Hawaii Association of Realtors,” Johnasen said after the meeting. “They are getting an inventory of vacation rentals, homes and ‘ohana units that they’re going to be offering up to displaced Maui residents. My understanding is that these are going to be people who are willing to put people up for the short term, at no cost.”
He said the point person for that effort is Jennifer Wilkinson, who is a member of WHAR’s Government Affairs Committee.
“It’s our understanding that a lot of (federal rental) voucher program homes were lost in the fires, so we’re going to be working with (the Department of Housing and Urban Development) on our end to see if we can utilize some of those Maui vouchers at some of our vacant voucher-accepting rentals, here on the island,” Johnasen said.
“We did contact the hotels to see if we could find some free lodging for folks, but right now, capacity at our hotels is pretty slim, especially on the Kohala Coast.”
Hawaii Police Chief Benjamin Moszkowicz said the Big Island will send 12 officers to Maui through a mutual aid agreement “to assist MPD and the residents of Maui however we are needed.”
”To our thin blue line ‘ohana on Maui, we have your back,” Moszkowicz said. “We stand united in the face of adversity and through teamwork and collaboration will help the Maui community overcome the obstacles facing our neighbors in need.
“The devastation we have all witnessed on Maui as they endure unfathomable losses and destruction due to wildfires hits close to home as it could easily happen here on Hawaii Island as we battle wildfires.”
The Hawaii Fire Department had its own issues this week with wildfires with dry weather over the past month in leeward areas and the same high winds that caused the widespread devastation in West Maui. Those winds were a product of a high-pressure system to the north combining with a low-pressure system brought by Hurricane Dora as it passed to the south of the state.
“I wouldn’t say it’s 100% under control, but we have demobilized a large amount of our resources at this point,” Hawaii Fire Chief Kazuo Todd said. “At this point, the Mauna Kea Beach fire is the one we’re keeping an eye on. The Kohala Ranch fire and the Lalamilo fire, as well as the fires down in Ka‘u, are basically under control and, if anything, we’re just monitoring.
“The weather forecast right now is showing that the weather is going to be getting more mellow, and some rain is going to be coming into the area.”
Todd told the Tribune-Herald he spoke Thursday morning with Maui Fire Chief Bradford Ventura.
“He indicated that their capacity to accept additional aid at this moment is somewhat limited,” Todd said. “I’m not sure so much how we’ll interface except that will be working with the mayor on this task force to figure out what aid they need and how to best facilitate that.
“There are a number of our firefighters and volunteer firefighters that have been expressing interest in potentially helping out with our Maui brothers and sisters.”
Johnasen said Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency will send to Maui one of its team members who has lava disaster response experience. The purpose, he said, is to help Maui Civil Defense “set up some of their systems or to go over some of the things we did during the 2018 eruption.”
In addition, the American Red Cross is sending at least six volunteers from Hawaii Island this week to help in the shelters and with disaster recovery on Maui, according to Hawaii Island Red Cross Coordinator Marty Moran.
“We had to do some logistics between Maui County and ourselves to make sure that whatever kokua we solicit is in line with whatever they have the capacity to intake at this time,” Johnasen said. ” And so we’re trying to make sure that everything we do has a clear cadence and that it’s in line with what they need at any given moment.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.