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Fire reignites
renovation plans
A booster group still intends to
restore the burned-out building
at Old Maui High School
A fire Saturday in a historic building on the Old Maui High School campus near Paia should not affect plans to restore and renovate the building and turn it into a community resource center, officials said.
The fire burned the main building at the school, the only concrete building at the campus located at 1000 Holomua Road. Firefighters responded to the fire at 1:56 p.m. Saturday and had it under control at 3:08 p.m. The fire was extinguished at 4:36 p.m.
"It survived years of neglect and rain and wind," said Jan Dapitan, executive director of Community Work Day Program. "It can survive this, too."
Maui Assistant Fire Chief Mark Paranada said the fire damaged 75 percent of the building, but Dapitan estimated 50 percent of the building was damaged.
The cause has yet to be determined.
A public rally will be held at the site at 9 a.m. Saturday to round up support and determine the next step in restoring and renovating the building.
"I'm hoping that many people are going to become aware that the school is still there. The walls are still standing and many of the buildings remain. If enough people have enough vision, we can figure out a way to use it and serve the community again," said Barbara Long, of Friends of Old Maui High.
The school was built in 1921 and shut down in 1972 after the closure of plantation camps in the 1960s and the development of Kahului, said Long.
For the last two years, a group of community members has been working on plans to improve the campus and transform it into a resource center for education and training.
The center will honor the legacy of the late U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink, a 1944 graduate and class valedictorian of Old Maui High School.
An estimated 5,000 people graduated from the high school, including former Maui Mayor Elmer Cravalho as well as current Mayor Alan Arakawa.
"There are so many people that love the campus," said Dapitan.
Long and other community members are in the process of submitting a nomination to the State Historic Preservation Division for the building to be listed in the national historic registry.
The fire also burned 10 acres of cane owned by the Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. Loss is estimated at $30,000, said Paranada.
For more information on the renovation project of Old Maui High School, call the Community Work Day Program at 808-877-2524.
