A long-awaited fire station in Olowalu that would serve as a critical emergency hub between West and Central Maui received unanimous approval Tuesday for a key special use permit.
The Maui Planning Commission voted 7-0 in support of the county permit that moves forward the privately funded fire station project on donated land. This vote comes nearly three years after the devastating 2023 wildfire destroyed most of nearby Lahaina town and killed at least 102 people.
“I’ve got some emotional ties to this project,” said Joe Pluta, who’s spent years pushing for the station even before he lost his home in the 2023 wildfires. “From what happened to me in person and what I experienced, I saw we need more than just this. But this is something. This is going to help.”
Pluta is president of the nonprofit West Maui Improvement Foundation, which is spearheading the Olowalu fire station project that it hopes could be operational later this year. In 2022, the Maui Fire Department chose the strategic location between the Lahaina and Wailuku fire stations, each about 9 miles away.
