Safety Cone Shortage Reaches Emergency Level on Maui, County Says

Maui is running dangerously low on orange rubber safety cones, the County of Maui warned on Wednesday as part of an emergency declaration.

A recent survey by county staff of supplies at Lowe's, Home Depot, Ace Hardware, and other retailers revealed that there might not be enough safety cones in the case of a big emergency.

"Part of the problem is, workers might set all the cones they have around what looks like small or kind of non-hazardous spots," said Barton Puu of the county Public Works Department. "Secondly, they forget to go pick them up so the cones stay there for weeks and months at a time. Sometimes years."

County officials called the emergency in an effort for Maui residents and businesses to conserve cones, or recycle the ones they have.

"Certainly, please at least for the time being refrain from buying brand new orange rubber safety cones," said Mayor Richard Bissen. "I mean, we do tend to have these really big disasters fairly often on island. It would be a shame to run completely out of safety cones at the precise moment we need them."

For updates, subscribe to our free newsletter!

Meanwhile, locals offered to pitch in to help in case of emergency, while the stores re-stock.

"We have a big orange rubber safety Cone right behind the bar that we can use out on the street on a moment's notice if we have to," said Joe Henderson, a bartender at Maui's local dive bar, Kahale's in downtown Kihei. "That is, if the guy who wears it on his head all the time did not forget and wear it home. Hate it when that happens."