Agencies with offices and personnel on the island are also scrambling to accommodate staff and provide continuity of services.
As ravaging wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, have forced some federal agencies to shutter facilities and pause normal services, the Biden administration is deploying hundreds of federal employees to the area to assist with disaster response efforts.
U.S. Postal Service: USPS has closed two post offices in the Lahaina area, which has been most directly impacted by the fires. After assessing the safety of its facilities and roadways, it has instructed customers to go to another post office in Wailuku to pick up their mail and set up mail forwarding. The agency pledged to resume operations in Lahaina as soon as roads become accessible.
Duke Gonzalez, a postal spokesman, confirmed that all USPS employees in Maui are accounted for, but seven of them lost their homes in the fires. Thirty-four have been relocated to other facilities on the island. The agency is offering support services and continuing to pay those unable to report to work, but wants to help the community get back to normal.
“Their goal is to provide a sense of normalcy for our Lahaina customers by delivering their important checks, medications, and packages to them,” Gonzalez said. “We are committed to fulfilling our role as essential service providers.”