Damaged Vehicles in Public Right-of-Way

Vehicle owners were requested to submit vehicle information by Oct. 27 to assist County of Maui with identifying vehicles in public roads and areas

The County of Maui identified fire-damaged or destroyed vehicles found on public roadways and other right-of-way areas following the August 2023 Maui wildfires. To help with this effort, the County of Maui’s Abandoned Vehicle and Metals Office requested information from vehicle owners that assisted with vehicle identification and management. Vehicle owners were asked to either fill out a Damaged Vehicles Form or contact the County of Maui’s Abandoned Vehicle and Metals Office at 808-270-6102 by Oct. 27, 2023.

Please note: You may still contact the Abandoned Vehicles and Metals Office after Oct. 27, 2023 for information although your vehicle may already be cataloged, and possibly removed and/or recycled after this date.

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Who needs to get in touch with the County?

As a part of the recovery effort, the County of Maui began assisting residents with the identification and initiation of the recycling of their damaged or destroyed vehicles found on public roadways. The County of Maui requested that residents fill out this form or contact the Abandoned Vehicle and Metals Office by October 27, 2023 if they had a vehicle in the Lahaina or Kula fire disaster zones that meet ALL the following criteria:

• Your vehicle was parked on a PUBLIC roadway or PUBLIC area within the disaster area
• You have not already retrieved your vehicle
• You have not already filed a claim for the vehicle under your car insurance

Vehicles remaining on public roadways or in public areas within the disaster area may be recycled as part of the cleanup effort unless the vehicle owner submits the following form or contacts the Abandoned Vehicles and Metals Office at (ph. 270-6102) by October 27, 2023.

Vehicle owners, including Car Rental Businesses, whose vehicles were left on a public road or in public area within the Lahaina or Kula fire disaster zones must have filled out a Damaged Vehicle Form or contact the County of Maui’s Abandoned Vehicle and Metals Office at 808-270-6102 by October 27, 2023. Those who are unsure of the status of their vehicle that was left in the public right-of-way should also contact the County or complete the form. Individuals who have already filed an insurance claim for their vehicle through their automobile insurance provider may also fill out the form and request or provide additional information, although your vehicle may be managed directly by your insurance provider rather than the County of Maui.

Purpose of vehicle identification process

This process helped the County to identify and document the estimated 1,000 vehicles that were in public right-of-way areas following the fires. Under federal law, vehicles declared a total loss must be reported to the National Motor Vehicle Titling Information System (NMVTIS), a national database that protects purchasers of used cars from concealed vehicle histories nationwide. The County has now completed this process as part of the documentation effort.

Information collected from vehicle owners has helped the County to assist these owners with their desired vehicle management options. 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 had submitted the Damaged vehicle form or contacts the Abandoned Vehicles and Metals Office by Oct. 27, 2023.

Additionally, the timely work to clear and remove damaged and destroyed vehicles from the public right-of-way helped to prepare for other phases of recovery to begin. Learn more about the Recovery and Rebuilding phases here.

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Dangers of fire-damaged electric vehicles (EVs)

Owners of electric vehicles (EVs) should NOT attempt to start, work on, or sit in their vehicle that remains in the disaster area – this includes all types of EVs, including hybrids and plug-in electric vehicles. Fire-damaged EVs are likely to be very dangerous. A separate recovery plan for the safe handling and disposal of EVs is currently in development by the County of Maui.

What information will I need to have available in order to complete the Damaged vehicles form or get over the phone assistance from the County of Maui Abandoned Vehicle and Metals Office?

You will want to have the following information available to provide when filling out the form or calling the County of Maui Abandoned Vehicle and Metals Office. If you are missing any pieces of this information, please still complete the process as best you can.

• Your full legal name as it was printed on your vehicle title of ownership
• Current phone number, email, and mailing address
• Last known location of your vehicle (best nearby address or cross streets)
• The vehicle license plate number
• The 17-digit Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)
• Description of the vehicle (brand, make, color, gas/electric/hybrid)
• Re-entry zone where vehicle located, if known (according to the zone map at mauirecovers.org/recovery/reentry)