Hearing to study Hawaii heritage site at fire-ravaged town

By Scott Streater | 06/25/2024 06:27 AM EDT

A House Natural Resources subcommittee will also discuss wilderness area bills.

Charred remains of homes are visible following a wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii, Aug. 22, 2023.

Charred remains of homes are visible following a wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii, last year. Jae Hong/AP

A House panel will debate legislation establishing Hawaii’s first national heritage area at a site on Maui that was devastated last year by the deadliest wildfire in modern U.S. history.

H.R. 8219, sponsored by Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii), would direct the National Park Service to study the feasibility of designating the town of Lahaina on the northwest coast of Maui as a national heritage area.

Tokuda’s bill is the highlight of the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands hearing Thursday that will consider five other mostly bipartisan bills.

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The Maui fire in August 2023 burned much of Lahaina, killing at least 101 people, burning thousands of buildings and displacing more than 12,000 people. A national heritage designation would unlock federal funding “to help rehabilitate important sites,” according to Tokuda’s office.

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