Biohazard and Crime Scene Remediation in Kula, HI

Kula is a census-designated place (CDP) of Maui County, Hawaii, stretching across Upcountry Maui on the western-facing slopes of Haleakala, and it is distinct from the generally hotter and busier coastal areas of the island.

The Kula CDP had a population of 6,942 at the 2020 census, while the larger Kula Census County Division, which also includes upland Keokea and coastal Wailea and Makena, had a population of 12,864.

Kula covers 34.54 square miles, all of it land, at an elevation of about 2,360 feet, with most homes lying between about 1,600 and 3,600 feet in elevation.

The CDP had 2,769 households and 3,035 housing units at the 2020 census, and its median age was 50.3 years, with 26.5 percent of residents aged 65 or older.

The word kula means dry, open country in Hawaiian, and Kula is one of Maui's 12 ancient districts, or moku, the island's largest, extending from dry coastal areas to the high pasture lands of the Haleakala, Erewhon and Ulupalakua ranches.

Kula is a farming district known for its onions, lettuce, potatoes, jicama, tomatoes, carrots, cauliflower and cabbage, and it grows most of Hawaii's proteas as well as nearly all the carnations used in leis.

During the California gold rush, Kula farmers shipped so many potatoes that the area was nicknamed Nu Kaleponi, a Hawaiian pronunciation of New California.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Kula is the coolest place in Hawaii, with an average low temperature of 55.7 degrees Fahrenheit, and its slopes produce the Maui vortex, a wind pattern that brings a lei of clouds over Kula most late mornings.

At Keokea, at about 2,400 feet on Kula Highway, stands the county park dedicated to Sun Yat-sen, called the father of modern China, who grew up in the area in the late 19th century with his brother Sun Mei.

Kula Hospital in Keokea began as a tuberculosis treatment sanatorium built in 1909 and now serves the community as a critical access hospital.