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The Maui News
Maui County is requesting information from vehicle owners to help identify fire-damaged or destroyed vehicles found on public roadways and other right-of-way areas following the August wildfires.
Vehicle owners, including car rental businesses, whose vehicles were left on a public road or in a public area within the Lahaina or Kula fire disaster zones should fill out a burned vehicle form or contact the county's Abandoned Vehicle and Metals Office at (808) 270-6102 by Oct. 27, the county said in a news release Monday. Those who are unsure of the status of their vehicle that was left in the public right-of-way also should contact the county or complete the form.
Individuals who have already filed an insurance claim for their vehicles through their automobile insurance providers also should fill out the form and request or provide additional information, although such vehicles may be managed directly by insurance providers rather than the county.
Filling out the form will help the county to identify and document the estimated 1,000 vehicles that were in public right-of-way areas after the fires. Under federal law, vehicles declared a total loss must be reported to the National Motor Vehicle Titling Information System, a national database that protects purchasers of used cars from concealed vehicle histories nationwide. The county will complete this process as part of the documentation effort.
Public right-of-way vehicles that remain in the disaster area may be recycled as part of the fire debris cleanup effort unless the vehicle owner submits the burned vehicle form or contacts the Abandoned Vehicles and Metals Office by Oct. 27. Owners can still contact the office after Oct. 27 for information, although their vehicle may already be cataloged and possibly removed or recycled after this date.
As a precaution, owners of electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles should not attempt to start, work on or sit in their vehicles that remain in the disaster area, as fire-damaged EVs and hybrid vehicles are likely to be very dangerous, the news release said. The county is currently developing a separate recovery plan for the safe handling and disposal of EVs.
For more information about vehicle recovery or to access the burned vehicle form, www.mauirecovers.org/damagedvehicles.