Displaced Maui families are in various stages of sifting through the fire rubble as officials allow neighborhoods to return to their homes. However, residents may have questions about salvaging personal items or keepsakes.
The Conversation spoke with two artifact experts from the University of Hawaiʻi, art archivist librarian Malia Van Heukelem and paper conservator Liane Naʻauao, about protecting items retrieved from the burn zone.
Van Heukelem and Naʻauao are the only active National Heritage Responders in the state.
The UH Mānoa Library has been working on sharing information with affected Lahaina sites such as museums, cultural centers, historic churches and schools.
"Liane and I went last month and we spent one day at the Kākoʻo Maui site and just made ourselves available and had let all the cultural heritage sites know that we'd be there, and we had a couple of members from churches come and talk to us," Van Heukelem said.
If you do find items you want to keep, the preservationists said it's probably best to try and clear off the soot and the ash if possible.
"And then bagging or boxing probably would be a good idea for the long-term storage because you don't know if you can get all of those toxins out with the cleaning," Naʻauao said.
They also encouraged people to wear personal protective equipment, especially gloves, due to possible toxins in the ash.
Webinars to learn more from the American Institute for Conservation.
This story aired on The Conversation on Dec. 27, 2023. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
