Hawaii to build evacuation routes on Maui after deadly wildfires

Hawaii officials released maps Tuesday detailing new evacuation routes that will be built in Lahaina, Hawaii, to help prevent the type of roadblocks that trapped people in their burning neighborhoods during the wildfires on Maui.

An opening in a sound wall in the Kelawea Mauka neighborhood will be created to allow cars to pass through and provide more access to the Lahaina Bypass, a main highway, during emergencies, the state Transportation Department said. The sound wall is currently used to minimize noise from traffic on the bypass.

A route will also be established at the top of Lahainaluna Road, a popular thoroughfare that was blocked by debris, fleeing residents and fire trucks during the Aug. 8 wildfires on western Maui, which killed 101 people, transportation officials said.

An emergency access route was already opened in October for several area schools, running about 2.5 miles from the Lahainaluna fire lane to the Lahaina Bypass, Gov. Josh Green's office said.

A second phase to create more access points near the bypass is under construction, it added.

Only two major roads lead out of Lahaina, and the bypass became inaccessible because of how close it was to the wind-driven fire, which sent people jumping into the Pacific Ocean to escape the raging flames.

Dozens of residents said in interviews that reaching Lahainaluna Road became nearly impossible when downed trees and other debris turned Lahaina's narrow streets into fiery death traps.

"You couldn't wait for police to evacuate you," Lahaina resident Andrea Pekelo said.

The new evacuation routes are part of a broader effort to make Lahaina more resilient to wildfires, which are a growing threat throughout Hawaii.

A spokesperson for the state Transportation