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Tue Oct 24, 2023, 07:54 AM Oct 2023

Mayor says West Maui to reopen to tourism on Nov. 1 after fire and workers are ready to return

https://apnews.com/article/hawaii-maui-lahaina-tourism-reopening-3e19bd1b77611763455fd4bc8c615295

Mayor says West Maui to reopen to tourism on Nov. 1 after fire and workers are ready to return

BY AUDREY MCAVOY
Updated 11:53 PM EDT, October 23, 2023

HONOLULU (AP) — All of West Maui except for burned-out sections of historic Lahaina will reopen to tourism on Nov. 1 following the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than century, the mayor of Maui County said Monday.

Mayor Richard Bissen said he made the move after talking about it with his Lahaina advisory team, the Red Cross and other partners.

West Maui has about 11,000 hotel rooms, or about half of Maui’s total. Travelers evacuated those hotels after the Aug. 8 fire raged through Lahaina town, killing at least 99 people and destroying more than 2,000 buildings.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green last month declared West Maui would officially reopen to tourism on Oct. 8 to bring back badly needed jobs and help the economy recover. Bissen modified the governor’s declaration with a phased plan, allowing a small section on the northern edge of West Maui to open first with the rest to follow at an undetermined date.

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