VA Helps With Housing, Other Needs
Hawaii Army National Guard Joint Task Force 50 (JTF-50) Soldiers assigned to Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 211th Aviation Regiment, 103rd Troop Command, fly a CH-47 Chinook to conduct water drop operations on wildfire areas in Ka’anapali, Maui, Aug. 26, 2023. In support of Maui County authorities, JTF-50, composed of the Hawaii Army and Air National Guard, U.S. Army Active Duty, and Reserve, is dedicated to the safety and recovery of affected Maui residents, coordinating with local first responders and adhering strictly to local, state, and federal guidelines and laws. (US Army National Guard photos by Spc. Sean Walker)
LAHAINA, HI — Devastating wildfires have been burning in Western Maui since the evening of Aug. 8, with Lahaina—the original capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom—being the area most affected on the island.
The official death toll at the end of August was 115, with more than 350 people validated as missing, although the actual list could be much larger.
More than 700 DoD personnel are actively engaged in the coordinated response to the Western Maui Wildfire, with about 572 in Western Maui.
The VA, meanwhile, is offering resources and assistance to Maui veterans impacted by the recent fires through its Pacific Islands Health Care System. Aid is being offered at two locations in West Maui and one in Central Maui.
Each of the locations has mental health services, nursing services, pharmacy services, social work services and Housing and Urban Development/VA Supportive Housing (HUDVASH) consultations available. In addition, the VA is distributing donated items.
DoD’s Joint Task Force 5-0 is working to support and augment the efforts of county, state and federal authorities in Hawaii to ensure the people of Maui receive necessary aid and assistance.
During a briefing in late August, Army Col. David Fielder, who serves as the Joint Task Force 5-0 Title 10 deputy dual-status commander, said the military response has been as quick as what has been called for.
“It may seem slow from the outside,” he said. “But … it’s been going very quickly, as needed, as requested by the local and state [officials], who are ultimately in charge of the entire operation.”
The task force on the ground in Hawaii includes National Guard, Reserve and active duty personnel, as well as Army civilian personnel from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
Spc. Joshua Torres, a fire control specialist with the Hawaii Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 487th Field Artillery Regiment, directs traffic as part of the National Guard’s response to the deadly Maui wildfires in Lahaina, Hawaii, Aug 25, 2023. The Defense Department and the U.S. Coast Guard are supporting the FEMA-led response to the deadliest wildfire in Hawaii’s history. (U.S. Air National Guard by Master Sgt. Erich B. Smith)
“We have one in the forensic lab, who is helping out, and we’ve gotten multiple on the scene down there, as they’re doing the search for remains, and they help with that every day,” he said.
In addition, Fielder said, about 50 or more members of the U.S. Coast Guard are involved, as are more than 40 civilians from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
He said a team of Navy divers was getting set up in Maui to help with salvage operations as well as looking for human remains. “They were requested [by] the Maui Fire Department; they’ve linked up with them,” Fielder said. “They work with the fire department, and they work with the Coast Guard, and they provide an expeditionary and deployable diving and salvage operation for the harbor here and the waterway.”
The divers will participate in mapping out where boats have sunk, while also looking for remains inside the harbor.
In addition, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency has deployed six forensic anthropologists to assist in gathering and identifying human remains.
The task force was stood up within 72 hours of his being notified about the need, Fielder pointed out.
“We haven’t been waiting for all of the paperwork to go—as long as it’s been a request that [we] could fulfill, we started,” he said. “We just received Navy divers. Within 24 hours of that request, they were on the ground.”
Spc. Sean Winsko, a cannon crewmember with the Hawaii Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 487th Field Artillery Regiment, provides direction to a motorist at an entry control point as part of the National Guard’s response to the deadly Maui wildfires in Lahaina, Hawaii, Aug 25, 2023. The Defense Department and the U.S. Coast Guard are supporting the FEMA-led response to the deadliest wildfire in Hawaii’s history. (U.S. Air National Guard by Master Sgt. Erich B. Smith)
Among task force activities are:
- Operation of a Defense Coordinating Element office, including liaison officers;
- Inter-island air/sea transportation for the movement of cargo, personnel, supplies and equipment;
- Use of Schofield Barracks to support facilities for billeting, life support and hygiene facilities for federal emergency responders;
- Strategic transportation of personnel and/or cargo;
- Standing by for aerial fire suppression;
- Use of U.S. Army Reserve Center—Wailuku and support as a FEMA Incident Support Base and a Federal Staging Area for FEMA;
- Fuel distribution operations in support of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers generator operations; and
- Mortuary Affairs support;
Significant DoD equipment is involved in the mission, including Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck fuelers from the Army’s 25th Infantry Division, which will provide approximately 1,500 gallons of fuel daily in support of 18 generators operating along Maui’s west coast.
Hawaii National Guardsmen continue to support local law enforcement in 24-hour-a-day operations by manning traffic control points and providing area security in Lahaina.