Maui County crews move into Launiupoko on Monday to begin stripping hazardous vegetation and debris from about 115 acres of county-owned land at Kapūʻali, a site better known locally as Cut Mountain. The push comes after firefighters responded to a dozen blazes at the property between February 2024 and this past September, and county officials say the risk has only grown as fuel builds up on the hillside above homes, a beach park and a major highway corridor.
The effort is being led by the Maui Emergency Management Agency, which says work crews will remove hazardous vegetation and flammable debris to create defensible space for nearby communities, property and critical infrastructure. The county expects the project to wrap up by early 2027. Agency administrator Amos Lonokailua-Hewett said the site is a priority precisely because of what surrounds it — residential areas, a beach park, a telecommunications tower and the Lahaina Bypass all sit close enough that a fire at Kapūʻali could quickly become everyone's problem.
A Dozen Fires and a Wet Year's Worth of Fuel
Lonokailua-Hewett pointed to this year's heavy rain as part of what's driving the urgency, saying it has spurred vegetation growth that adds to the wildfire fuel already on the land. He also cited the recent Olowalu fire, fueled by hurricane-force winds, as proof that West Maui's wildfire risk hasn't gone away. Firefighters have now answered a dozen calls to the Kapūʻali property alone in roughly two and a half years, a pattern the county says demonstrates the need to act before the next ignition rather than after it.
The work itself will be a mix of muscle and machinery. Hand crews and heavy equipment are set to clear brush and mulch vegetation, while workers separately remove invasive grasses, haole koa and kiawe trees that have taken over the hillside. Crews will also remove and dispose of abandoned vehicles, car batteries, gas tanks, tires and other debris that have accumulated on the land, using hand-removal methods when necessary in spots heavy equipment can't reach.
Three Phases, With Housing Help Promised Later
The project is structured in three phases, and the first begins Monday. The county has said no one living in the area will be displaced during that initial phase. For phases two and three, Maui County says it plans to work with community partners on outreach, assess individual needs and connect affected people with resources and housing opportunities, though the county has not specified exact start dates for those later phases or how many people might be affected.
Current outreach tied to the project already includes food and water, medical and behavioral health care, and case management services, according to the county. The county's Department of ʻŌiwi Resources is also advising the project on how to limit impacts to culturally sensitive areas as crews work through the 115 acres.
Funding and Partners Behind the Cleanup
Multiple county departments, nonprofits and county contractors are taking part in the project. A grant agreement between the emergency management agency and the nonprofit Maui Nui Resiliency Hui is funding the vegetation mulching, with additional assistance coming from Hui Nehu and the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation. Separately, the Maui County Department of Environmental Management is coordinating debris removal through its own grant agreement with Mālama Maui Nui.
Lessons From a Similar Cleanup in Ukumehame
Kapūʻali isn't the county's first attempt at this kind of large-scale fire-risk reduction. A comparable project on county-owned land in Ukumehame wrapped up work on about 42 acres near Honoapiʻilani Highway's mile marker 13.5, according to The Maui News, which reported the work finished Nov. 28 after beginning Aug. 4. Crews there cleared out invasive vegetation and covered the area with mulch, and the emergency agency has since been developing a maintenance plan to keep the land from reverting.
Reports on just how much debris came out of Ukumehame don't fully agree. Maui Now reported that the project cleared 120 vehicles and 1,200 tires, while The Maui News put the totals at 123 vehicles and 1,226 tires, alongside 176 tons of solid waste, 76 tons of scrap metal and 13 tons of damaged EV batteries. Mayor Bissen has said the Ukumehame area saw a dozen wildfires over two years before that cleanup began — nearly the same fire history now driving the work at Kapūʻali.
Residents with questions about the Launiupoko project can call 808-270-7285.
