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The Federal Emergency Management Agency is partnering with Home Depot to help Maui residents rebuild after the Aug. 8 wildfires, which destroyed much of Lahaina town. The Home Depot Foundation has also committed $550,000 to support recovery efforts on Maui, according to a representative of the foundation.
As part of the initiative, which runs through Saturday, Sept. 23, FEMA specialists will be at Home Depot to provide tips and information on how to make homes stronger and safer, according to a written statement from the disaster response agency.
The specialists will be available from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Home Depot located at 100 Pakaula St. in Kahului.
The Maui wildfires killed at least 97 people. The fires also destroyed 2,000 homes and 800 businesses, according to the Sept. 6 report from state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.
"The Home Depot partners regularly with FEMA to help communities in recovery from natural disasters," said Jeff Partin, director of emergency preparedness for The Home Depot, in a written statement. "We believe it’s important to get information relevant to mitigation and emergency recovery to people as quickly as possible."
FEMA has thousands of staff members working across the nation in response to disasters, according to its website. For more information about FEMA's response in Hawaii, go here.