Police Reopen Road to Lahaina After Overnight Closures, Clashes Between Residents, Officials

The road to Lahaina has reopened to allow authorized vehicles, including residents and guests staying in the historic Hawaiian town, to return to the Maui enclave leveled this week by raging wildfires.

The daybreak reopening comes after hundreds of motorists and police clashed overnight when authorities closed the only road heading into the town devastated by wildfires that killed at least 80 people, according to a report.

Maui County officials closed the road in both directions Friday afternoon when altercations erupted between residents of Lahaina and the police over access to areas that had been closed and because of safety concerns, the Honolulu Star Advertiser reported. 

Police had set up  a checkpoint in Maalaea, about 20 miles south of Lahaina, to ensure that only residents of the town with identification and visitors who could show they were staying in West Maui would be allowed in.

It was the first time the road had been open since the fires whipped by Hurricane Dora tore through the town Tuesday, causing thousands of residents to be evacuated.

Around 4 p.m. motorists sitting in a long line of cars at the checkpoint saw about 20 police cars and an ambulance speed along the road to Lahaina, the Star Advertiser reported. 

A short time later, police informed them that the road would remain closed indefinitely in both directions.

Officers said vehicles were being left parked along the road, that people had been crossing into off-limits areas and that some of them became "emotional" when asked to leave. 

Another officer told motorists that a "near riot" broke out in Lahaina among about 100 people and police officers, the Star Advertiser reported. 

The Maui Police Department said in a message Friday on Facebook that the area "is locked down due to hazardous conditions and biohazards. This zone has been declared by Mayor (Richard) Bissen as an authorized personnel area only, and those caught within this zone will be escorted out and may be arrested."

"This area is an active police scene, and we need to preserve the dignity of lives lost and respect their surviving family," the message continued.

Police said the road had been opened so that residents could deliver medication and supplies to the families in homes "outside of the fire/biohazard zone."

Jeff Hickman, director of public affairs for the state’s Department of Defense, told the Star Advertiser that 48 National Guard personnel are carrying out search-and-rescue operations on Maui while another 20 are involved in traffic control. 

By evening, the police shared on Facebook that vehicles could exit Lahaina, but remained closed for vehicles heading in.