A fire that gutted part of Kauai's county building in Lihue has left the island without driver's license and permit testing for over a month, and families are paying for flights to other islands to get it done.

• The fire destroyed parts of the building that housed the DMV and several other county departments, and damage turned out to be worse than first expected.
• With no road or permit tests on Kauai, some parents are flying kids to Hilo just to take the test, which means expensive flights and paperwork like signed affidavits for the parent who stays home.
• An emergency grace period runs through November 21, so drivers with expired licenses or state IDs will not be penalized.
• The county is adding DMV services in Kapaa and setting up a temporary Lihue office in the next few weeks, plus a shorter road test route.
• Residents want a permanent second full DMV so one building cannot take down the whole service again; the county calls that a long-term goal only.

Outlook: Testing should return to Kauai within weeks as temporary offices open, but a second permanent DMV is not coming soon.