Taskforce Kiwi to deploys to Maui, Hawaii, to support wildfire recovery

As New Zealand based disaster relief group Taskforce Kiwi closes out its second year of operations, an initial rotation of skilled volunteers has departed for Hawaii to support with wildfire recovery on the island of Maui.

On August 8, 2023, the fires ravaged the historic town of Lahaina on Maui, causing unprecedented destruction, displacing thousands of residents, and claiming 102 lives. A year on, much of the recovery efforts are still underway, and many residents are yet to return to their homes.

Taskforce Kiwi's US-based partner Red Lightning have been active in supporting the Lahaina community over the past year, initially providing communications support in the wake of the fire, before moving on to decontaminate and prepare smoke impacted homes for the return of families. The amount of work still required is immense, and Red Lightning have requested support from Taskforce Kiwi to help speed up recovery.

This is the first time that Taskforce Kiwi has deployed with Red Lightning, however the organisations have linked up previously in Aotearoa when the US-based organisation sent volunteers to participate in Taskforce Kiwi drone piloting and aerial mapping training in Auckland.

Taskforce Kiwi National Director, Rich Adams reflected on the opportunity to send volunteers to aid with the Lahaina recovery, and to build on the cross-continental partnership.

“A year on from the devastating fire in Lahaina there is still a huge amount of work to do to support the community, and Red Lightning have been doing an amazing job over the past year to support the response and to get families back into their homes. It is a privilege to be able to join them in this work, and to continue to strengthen our bonds across the Pacific”

Seconding Rich’s sentiments, Red Lightning CEO, Mike Shiffler highlights the importance of receiving reinforcements from New Zealand.

“Taskforce Kiwi has boldly answered the call in what we hope is the first of many deployments which should provide the needed support and structure for a many months’ long recovery effort. With Taskforce Kiwi joining us, we are poised to make a significant impact to help return families to their homes as quickly as possible.”

 The first cohort of volunteers to arrive in Lahaina is the first rotation of several to make the trip to Hawaii, as the organisations continue their work to remediate some of the thousands of homes impacted by the wildfire.

Taskforce Kiwi volunteer flights have once again been generously coordinated by the organisation's international humanitarian logistics partner, Washington DC-based Airlink.