From outside the burn zone in Lahaina, Jes Claydon could see the ruins of the rental home where she had lived for 13 years and raised three children.
Little is recognizable behind the sea glass jars that stand outside the front door.
On Monday, officials are expected to begin lifting restrictions on entry to the area, and Claydon hopes to collect the jars and any other memorabilia he may find.
“I want the freedom to just be there and absorb what’s going on,” Claydon said. “Anything I find, even if it’s just a sea glass jar, I can’t wait to pick it up… 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 ravaged nearly seven weeks ago, on August 8, by the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century.
Sydney Carney walks through her home, which was destroyed by fire on Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii.AP
The prospect of returning has stirred strong emotions among residents who fled by vehicle or on foot as wind-blown flames swept through Lahaina, the historic capital of Hawaii’s former kingdom, and overwhelmed people trapped in traffic trying to escape.
A few survivors jumped over the sea wall and took cover in the waves as hot black smoke blotted out the sun.
The wildfires killed at least 97 people and destroyed more than 2,000 buildings, mostly homes.
Summer Gerling picks up her savings bank found in the rubble of her home following a wildfire on Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii.AP
The Claydon house is a one-story cinderblock house painted a deep tan, similar to the red soil of Lahaina. He could see the property from the National Guard barricade that had kept unauthorized people out of the burn zone.
Some walls are still standing, and some green grass remains, he said.
Authorities have divided the burning area into 17 zones and dozens of sub-zones. Residents or property owners first cleared for re-entry — known as Zone 1C, along Kaniau Road in northern Lahaina — will be allowed home on supervised tours Monday and Tuesday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Lahaina’s historic Waiola Church Hall and nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission are engulfed in flames along Wainee Street on Aug. 8, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii.AP
Those who are eligible can take the pass from Friday to Sunday in advance.
Darryl Oliveira, interim administrator of the Maui Emergency Management Agency, said officials also want to make sure they have the space and privacy to reflect or grieve as they see fit.
“They expect some people just want to leave for a very short period of time, a few minutes to say goodbye on the way to their property,” Hawaii Governor Josh Green said last week.
A checkpoint set up by the Hawaii National Guard is pictured on Kaniau Street, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii.AP
“Others may want to stay a few hours. They will be very accommodating.”
Returnees will be provided with water, shade, washing stations, portable toilets, health and mental health care, and transportation assistance if needed.
The nonprofit group also offers personal protective equipment, including masks and shirts.
Officials have warned the ash could contain asbestos, lead, arsenic or other toxins.
While some residents, like Claydon, may be eager to find jewelry, photos or other signs of their lives before the fire, officials are urging them not to sift through the ashes for fear of creating toxic dust that could harm them or their neighbors below. the wind
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
