Veteran-led organizations assist in Hawaii wildfires relief operations

Teams from Veteran-led organizations are assisting in relief operations on the fire-stricken island of Hawaii.

Project DYNAMO and Team Rubicon are among the Veteran-led organizations with crews on site in neighborhoods devastated by the deadliest wildfire in the U.S. in more than a century. In Maui, blazes consumed the historic tourist town of Lahaina, destroying nearly every building in an area with a population of 13,000.

The death toll stands at at least 114, and hundreds of people are still unaccounted for. Thousands of people have been displaced.

The air and ground team of Project DYNAMO, a non-profit rescue organization, has participated in “Operation Ohana Safe” on Maui. Ohana Safe means safe families. Project DYNAMO teamed up with a local company, Air Maui Helicopter Tours, to help with evacuation efforts in Lahaina, where entire city blocks have been incinerated.

`These situations are very, very dynamic’

Project DYNAMO began its relief efforts by rescuing people and has since added humanitarian drops including food, water and clothing.

Bryan Stern, founder and CEO of Project DYNAMO, is an Army and Navy combat Veteran with more than 25 years of experience in hostage rescue and counter-terrorism operations. He’s leading his organization’s four-person team that has more than 100 years of experience combined in rescue operations.

“These situations are very, very dynamic,” he said, during the relief operation in an interview with 9 News Australia. “They change every hour. Some of the roads are opening up. Some of the infrastructure is coming back to life. But it’s really terrible. They’re running out of food. They’re running out of supplies. There’s lots of people that are homeless… These terrible situations also show the best of humanity. So when there is a catastrophe, there’s some goodness that does come out of it.” 

Team Rubicon, a humanitarian organization that responds to natural disasters in the U.S. and around the world, unites Veterans with first responders to form emergency response teams. Local volunteers from Team Rubicon are in Maui helping those impacted by the wildfires. The volunteers are supporting with logistics, donation management, crowd management and traffic control.

“Our priority is assisting those in need and the safety of our [volunteers],” Team Rubicon said in a statement. “We will follow the local warnings and advisors and understand that the priority is search and recovery operations. We will ensure any [volunteers] deployed to the island will have a positive impact and will not take away needed resources from survivors.”

Team Rubicon received a $1 million donation from Parsons Xtreme Golf (PXG) and The Bob and Renee Parsons Foundation to assist survivors impacted by the wildfires.  

“In the past 10 years, Team Rubicon has built a dedicated team of over 1,000 Greyshirt volunteer leaders in Hawaii,” said Art delaCruz, Team Rubicon CEO. “Currently, we have boots on the ground and are in close communication with local authorities and emergency managers to offer our immediate help in shelter set ups, food distribution, donation management and distribution, and staff for the local emergency operation center. We are extremely grateful to our partners at PXG for their unwavering commitment to supporting those in need.” 

Destruction from wildfires in Hawaii resembles a `war zone’

Regarding the Veteran community, the VA Pacific Islands Health Care System (VAPIHCS) is leading efforts to assist former service members and VA staff affected by the tragedy in Maui, where 3,125 Veterans live, including 354 in the Lahaina area.

VAPIHCS has set up a donation center in the lobby of its headquarters in Honolulu and is working feverishly to get food, water, clothing and toiletries, among other necessities, to the Veterans in Maui. Recommended donation items are toiletry items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, body wash, deodorant, toilet paper, disposable razors and hair ties. Nonperishable food items and water are also appreciated. Phone chargers, blankets, pillows, clothing, prepaid phones or shoes are also wanted.

VA has also set up three shelters for Veterans in Maui, each of which offers mental health services, nursing services, pharmacy services, social work services and supportive housing consultations for homeless Veterans. Donated items will be distributed as they become available.

Veterans on Maui can go to any of these shelters from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• Napilli Plaza address: 5095 Napilihau St, Lahaina, HI 96761

• War Memorial, 700 Halia Nakoa St, Wailuku, HI 96793

• Lahaina Gateway, 325 Keawe St, Lahaina, HI 96761

VA’s CBOC (Community Based Outpatient Center) on Maui was unaffected by the wildfires. Veterans can stop by the CBOC to pick up their medication, see clinicians and take showers.

VA created a resource page for Veterans affected by the wildfires. Veterans who need assistance can also call 1-800-214-1306 to speak with someone about resources that are available to them.

Here’s information on how you can donate to assist Veterans affected by the fires. On this form, please specify:

• Choose Hawaii
• Choose VA Pacific Islands HCS 459
• Minimum donation $5
• Specify in Donor Intent-for Maui Veterans disaster donation

Separately, the Internal Revenue Service has announced expansive tax relief for Hawaii wildfire victims in Maui and Hawaii counties. These taxpayers now have until Feb. 15, 2024, to file federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments.

The IRS is offering relief to any area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This means that people and households that reside or have a business in these counties qualify for tax relief. The current list of eligible localities is always available on the disaster relief page on IRS.gov.

The tax relief postpones various tax filing and payment deadlines that occurred from Aug. 8, 2023, through Feb. 15, 2024 (postponement period). As a result, affected people and businesses will have until Feb. 15, 2024, to file returns and pay any taxes that were originally due during this period.

The tax relief is part of a coordinated federal response to the damage caused by these wildfires and is based on local damage assessments by FEMA. For information on disaster recovery, visit disasterassistance.gov.