Mail damaged by Hanama‘ulu fire

HANAMA‘ULU — Island residents who use the Hanama‘ulu post office should expect that mail and packages were likely damaged during Friday’s fire that destroyed the 116-year-old Hanama‘ulu Trading Company building.

There were no injuries to postal personnel during the blaze, and the damage assessment is not yet complete, according to Duke Gonzales, corporate communications specialist for the U.S. Postal Service in Honolulu. However, he said there was damage to mail and parcels.

“Initial indications are that most of the contents of the office sustained major damage,” Gonzales said. “Customers who believe that they had letters, cards or parcels in the Hanama‘ulu postal facility at the time of the fire should immediately contact the senders of that mail to request replacements.”

 In July 2011, the Hanama‘ulu Post Office was included on a list of sites that could be potentially closed. It was marked for closing in December 2011, but the decision was put on hold in May for continued review.

Supporters wanting to keep the Hanama‘ulu Post Office open met with officials last summer and wrote letters during a public comment period. The closure would leave the Lihu‘e Post Office at 4441 Rice St. as the only full-service station open for the 96766 ZIP code.

The potential closing was the result of a Post Office Expanded Access study to consider retail-replacement options called Village Post Offices to sell stamps and offer flat-rate packaging, but not full-service or post office boxes.

Gonzales said it is too soon to say whether the decision to rebuild, relocate or close the Hanama‘ulu branch because of the fire.

“Our immediate concerns are to restore service to our affected customers to the extent that we can,” Gonzales said. “We have not determined how this might affect our long-term plans.”

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. There were no further updates from the Kaua‘i Fire Department on Sunday.