Incomplete list of federal government response to the ongoing wildfires on the Hawaiian Islands.

On 28DEC2023, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)-Honolulu District revealed plans for a temporary campus for displaced students of King Kamehameha-the-Third elementary school.  USACE video by Charles Delano:

USAEC was ordered in September, by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), to design and build a temporary elementary school.  The work is actually being done by contractor Pono Aina Management of Waianae, Hawaiʻi.  The temporary school is using taxpayer-leased modular buildings, and could be in use for the next five years!

Kula, Maui, 27DEC2023. USACE photo by Brigida I. Sanchez.

Debris removal includes trees that are considered to be a potential threat, possibly falling onto the public, so they are cut down and removed.

“All the recovered lithium batteries and power walls were handled by EPA utilizing an innovative process. The state, county, and other federal partners were not involved in the de-energizing and decommissioning of the batteries.”-Stacy Greendlinger, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, December 2023

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers explains the debris removal process, on Maui, Hawaii, 01DEC2023:

USACE photo by Sara Goodeyon, 25NOV2023.

At the end of November, the USACE Wi-Fi system for the new temporary school had to be moved to a better location, to improve connectivity.

On 18 November, the first soil samples were collected by the USACE in Kula: “At each location, six inches of soil is scraped off of the top and then the contractor lays out decision units and collects the samples. The samples will be analyzed for elevated levels of metals such as arsenic, canec, lead, and cadmium. If they come back showing elevated levels of contaminates, the area will be scraped and sampled again.”-Jean Barnes, Environmental Protection Specialist

Hawaii Army National Guard’s UH-60 Black Hawks and CH-47 Chinook rotary wings respond to wildfire on O’ahu, near Mililani Mauka, 04NOV2023. So far, the Hawaii National Guard has dropped at least 30-thousand gallons of water on the O’ahu wildfires. Video by Sergeant Lianne M. Hirano:

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer Second Class Brandon Hillard, 01NOV2023.

The U.S. Coast Guard-Station Maui oversees the contracted salvage and recovery operations of sunken boats in the Lahaina Harbor.

Hawaii Army National Guard CH-47 Chinook drops water on the wildfire on Mililani, O’ahu, Hawaii, 01NOV2023. Video by Master Sergeant Andrew Jackson:

USACE photo by Erin Jimenez, 24OCT2023.

In October, USACE employees, working the Hawai‘i Wildfire Recovery Field Office in Kiehi, were so stressed-out that they got a visit from therapy dogs.

On 21OCT2023, the USACE began the first site assessment for Phase-1 private property debris removal in Kula:

U.S. Air Force photo by Airman First Class Megan Geiger, 19OCT2023.

In October, donations were collected on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, in the Evergreen State of Washington.  The donations were then picked up and shipped to Hawai’i by a Seattle based food pantry organization.

U.S. Disaster, September 2023:

LAHAINA FIRE FIASCO, WILL THE USE OF ELECTRIC CARS RESULT IN EPA ‘SUPER FUND’ STATUS FOR RESIDENTS?

U.S. Disaster, August 2023: FEMA RESPONSE, LAHAINA FIRE!

LAHAINA FIRE; JTF 5-0 DEPLOYS!

LAHAINA FIRE; HAWAII MILITIA DEPLOYS!

U.S. Disaster, August 2021: MILITIA & U.S. ARMY BATTLE LARGEST EVER WILDFIRE FOR HAWAII!