Nov 24 Maui residents want independent testing to determine when it’s safe to return to burned town By Rebecca Boone, Associated Press The rubble left behind includes electrical cables, plastic pipes and vehicle tires that emit dangerous dioxins when burned; lead from melted vehicles or old house paint; and arsenic-laden ash from termite-resistant building materials. Continue reading
Nov 17 Watch 8:27 Maui faces water rights questions as island continues wildfire recovery By William Brangham, Maea Lenei Buhre, Sam Lane The deadly wildfires that tore through Maui destroyed thousands of structures and killed 100 people. But as William Brangham reports, they also reignited a long-simmering concern among Native Hawaiians over who controls one of their most precious natural resources, water. Continue watching
Oct 24 West Maui to reopen to tourism on Nov. 1 after fire By Audrey McAvoy, Associated Press The community has had an impassioned debate about when to welcome travelers back to the disaster-stricken region. Some residents drafted a petition opposing the return of tourists, saying the community wasn't ready. Continue reading
Oct 06 Watch 9:19 Return of tourism in West Maui sparks debate over grieving community and fragile economy By William Brangham, Sam Lane, Maea Lenei Buhre This weekend, tourists will be allowed back into areas of Maui not far from the site of the deadliest U.S. wildfires in more than a century. The reopening plan has sparked an uproar among some members of a community that’s… Continue watching
Sep 28 Watch 5:02 West Maui residents ask to delay reopening as officials look to restart tourist economy By William Brangham, Mike Fritz, Dorothy Hastings, Maea Lenei Buhre, Sam Lane Children will return to schools in Lahaina, Hawaii, starting next month and tourists will also be allowed back into parts of western Maui nearly two months after the devastating fires there. Officials are trying to help restart an economy that… Continue watching
Sep 26 Watch 10:56 Some Lahaina residents return to find what’s left of their homes after Maui wildfires By William Brangham, Maea Lenei Buhre, Mike Fritz, Sam Lane It’s been seven weeks since the deadliest American wildfires in more than a century swept through the Hawaiian island of Maui. Some residents in the hardest-hit neighborhoods of Lahaina are finally getting a chance to return home. William Brangham reports… Continue watching