#Wahikuli

The County of Maui Department of Parks and Recreation announced facility closures in West Maui and in Central Maui.

Residents say more a new flood control project and better stormwater management is sorely needed.

Maui Emergency Management Agency at 11:16 a.m. today, March 21, 2026, UPGRADED advisories to evacuation WARNINGS for Wahikuli and Leialiʻi areas below Ka Laʻi Ola in Lahaina due to nearby retention basins nearing capacity. Other new zones in this area were placed under ADVISORY. Warnings and advisories are NOT mandatory evacuation orders.

Evacuation advisories have been issued at 9:28 a.m. today, March 20, 2026, for Wahikuli and Leialiʻi areas below Ka Laʻi Ola in Lahaina due to nearby retention basins nearing capacity, according to Maui Emergency Management Agency (MEMA). County of Maui contracted crews are actively working to redirect overflow and actively pumping water from the Lahaina basin to help keep levels safe. Warnings and advisories are NOT mandatory evacuation orders.

An evacuation warning notice has been downgraded to an advisory at 10:13 a.m. today, March 15, 2026, for Wahikuli and Leialiʻi areas below Ka Laʻi Ola in Lahaina due to the lower risk of flooding, according to Maui Emergency Management Agency.

Maui County reached a significant benchmark in its recovery from the 2023 wildfires this week as rebuilding of the 100th structure was completed, the County of Maui Department of Public Works Development Services Administration announced Tuesday.

Homeowners in the Wahikuli Houselots Subdivision are encouraged to attend an in-person workshop on the Wahikuli Gravity Sewer Design Project on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Lahaina Resource Center at Lahaina Gateway.

Debris transport, the Wahikuli sewer project, and Hoʻokumu Hou housing programs will be discussed at the upcoming Lahaina Community Meeting, set to take place at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 13, at the Lahaina Intermediate School cafeteria.

While residents who have been living in the Lahaina burn zone are happy to see the rebuilding starting to pick up, it is “bittersweet” knowing that it will never be the same as it was.

The proposed project seeks to upgrade these properties to a gravity sewer system, eliminating environmental impacts from cesspools and leaking septic systems while providing a wastewater management system more resilient to disaster hazards from wildfires, flooding, and tsunami.

A sewer line being built for the Kilohana Temporary Group Housing Site on Maui will have long-term benefits for Lahaina.

The Wahikuli neighborhood watch program works with the Maui Emergency Management Agency to augment checkpoints in the area to prevent looters and disaster tourists.

The Hawaiʻi Department of Health is issuing Guidance for Existing Cesspool Use in Residential Kula, Maui. It was developed in an effort to support Kula residents affected by the wildfires, working to rebuild and reoccupy their homes.

The meeting will include a status report on debris clearing by the US Army Corps of Engineers, a Hawaiʻi Department of Education update on Kamehameha III Elementary School, and an Environmental Protection Agency update on Wahikuli cesspool inspections and information on the agency’s new sewer line design project. 

A summary report of community engagement by the County of Maui with the Lahaina community is now available to view and download on the Ola Lahaina page at www.MauiRecovers.org.

The land trust says listings of burned properties in Lahaina with prices well above their assessed land values pre-fire will draw outside investors and put properties out of the reach of local buyers. But sellers say it’s a tough call to put their properties on the market and that they’re just trying to recoup their losses and move on with their lives.

With residential debris removal nearly 100% complete in these areas, opening of the Wahikuli and Māla neighborhoods in Lahaina is set for Tuesday, Sept. 3, at noon. The opening includes zones 1C, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F, 3A, 3B, 3C, 4A, 4B and 4C, allowing clear access for residents, according to Maui Emergency Management Agency. As these zones reopen, security checkpoints will be reallocated to other areas in the Lahaina Impact Zone.

Student artwork that had adorned 1,000 lineal feet of mesh barrier fencing in Lahaina was removed last week to make way for a sewerline project supporting interim housing units and 29 homes on Fleming Road, the County of Maui announced. The artwork has been placed in storage for future use, including an installation at the Lahaina Civic Center later this year.

The first dozen or so Ka Laʻi Ola temporary housing units are nearly ready for occupancy by wildfire survivors in pre-fab, futuristic NanoNest tiny homes with curved ends and floor-to-ceiling transparent walls that take advantage of views of the ocean and West Maui Mountains.

The County of Maui Office of Recovery and Department of Planning will hold a planning workshop for the Lahaina Town Historic and Business Districts on Saturday, June 29, 2024, from 3 to 5:30 p.m. at the Lahainaluna High School cafeteria, located at 980 Lahainaluna Road. The workshop will address the core of Lahaina town’s historic and commercial areas, primarily makai of Honoapiʻilani Highway.