By Marcelle Dibrell
More than a year after the August 2023 wildfire that destroyed much of the Hawaiian town of Lahaina, Maui, the Lahaina Aquatic Center will soon be opened to the public, thanks to community-led efforts to restore the pool.
Despite being surrounded by devastation, somehow the public pool facility dodged destruction during the deadly fire, likely because of a service road behind the building that acted as a fire break.
Nonetheless, for 11 months, the pool has languished in a state of disrepair.
At community meetings, residents had voiced their frustration that county members had made no effort to reopen the pool.
But the August 8 fire that killed 102 people and left 12,000 residents without homes has kept county officials busy tending to larger concerns.
So when community members decided to take matters at the pool into their own hands, they were greeted by water filled with black ash, fire debris, and a dead owl. Three deceased cats were discovered on the pool deck.
The stagnant water at the Lahaina Aquatics Center was filled with sludge and debris. Green algae grew in the 450,000 gallons of untreated water and had to be removed in wheelbarrows once the water was drained. Photo credit: LeCamieann Shiffler. Led by LeCamieann Shiffler, a volunteer from Lahaina who is part of a disaster relief nonprofit called Red Lightning, the community got to work.
After arranging a meeting with an assistant to Maui County’s mayor, Shiffler contacted Maui County Pool Manager Duke Sevilla to figure out how to get started.
Sevilla, Shiffler, and her Red Lighting team began cleaning the facility in July.
The water, which was filled with sludge and debris, had sat stagnant for months. Green algae grew in the 450,000 gallons of untreated water and had to be removed in wheelbarrows once the water was drained.
By August, members, friends, and family of the Lahaina Swim Club were there helping. The fire had destroyed the homes of 32 club members, as well as the home of its president, Bob Dezotell, and they were all anxious to get their pool back despite their loss.
A team of 30 volunteer workers from the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 50 painted the exterior and interior surfaces of the pool with 100 gallons of paint donated by PPG.
West Maui Landscaping cleaned up the vegetation.
Pool pump mechanic Andre Lacour guided workers throughout the process.
The volunteers expect they can have the pool ready by October.
It means a lot to swim team members, who — ever since the fire — have been traveling 45 minutes each way nearly every day to the pool in Kihei to train.
Jack Pope, a six-time state champion for Lahainaluna High School and a current coach at the Kihei pool, is excited that the pool will soon be opened.
“It’s like coming home,” Pope said. “When you’re coming back from a trip and you smell that beautiful Maui air, there’s nothing like swimming in Lahaina. That’s for sure.”
A group of 30 painters from International Union of Painters and Allied Trades Distict Council 50 volunteered to paint the exterior and interior surfaces at the Lahaina Aquatic Center on Aug. 10. Photo courtesy: LeCamieann Shiffler
