LAHAINA, Maui (FOX5) – Maui County leaders came together Tuesday to discuss both the short-, and long-term goals for removing and storing debris from the deadly wildfire.
By the end of the day, they’d listened to more than five-hours of passionate testimony.
Some 400,000 pounds of debris needs to be removed from the area surrounding Lahaina. The proposed temporary dump site is about seven miles outside Lahaina Town at Olowalu. It’s been used as a dump site before.
The Army Corps of Engineers has proposed a kind of “burrito wrap” around the debris, but there’s concern it will leak out the ends and wind up in the air and ocean.
Leaders also face a race against the clock. Federal funding to move the pile faces a hard deadline. It’s approaching fast while the debris remains exposed to open air in a place where no one seems to want it.
“It’s sad that more people, the people who are making these decisions aren’t showing emotion in this situation where so many people have suffered,” complained one resident.
“Nobody willingly wants it at Olowalu, but there are things that we have to consider moving forward, I don’t want it there, if it was a perfect world i would ship it off into outer space,” another person countered.
The debate right now is over where to place the debris temporarily. A permanent site for the pile hasn’t been selected.
County leaders plan to hold further discussions about their plans later this week.
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