Nearly one-year after Lahaina wildfires: debris clearance at 88%, more than two dozen permits issued to rebuild

Gov. Josh Green provided an update on the ongoing Maui wildfire recovery as the one year mark nears on Aug. 8, 2023. As of July 5, 2024, the state had cleared all individuals from the non-congregate sheltering (NCS) program at hotels; however, there were still 62 families that were finalizing their arrangements with the federal government to transition into longer-term housing. That’s down from the 3,071 families that were being accommodated in hotels in the aftermath of the wildfires.

“So we’re talking about over 99% of the families are now into long-term housing and the cases where they aren’t—some families had multiple pets—was challenging. Some people had disabilities and needed to stay these last couple of weeks. But at the one year mark, all of the 3,071 families should be into long term housing,” Green said during a press conference update on Wednesday afternoon.

At 336 days after the fire, the governor took a moment to thank all of those who have participated in the recovery to date, including the mayor, Attorney General’s office, Red Cross workers, the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation, and FEMA.

“The debris clearance is an enormous job that the Army Corps of Engineers has been contracted to do, which the mayor and I approved. They’re already 88% plus done… As of 11 months out, it will be probably 95% to 97% completed by the one year anniversary,” said Green.

Some residents are going through the permitting process to rebuild their homes, with the first home to rebuild in the Lahaina impact zone getting walls and a foundation late last month. The governor estimates that more than two dozen permits were approved as of last week, noting that crews are working to ensure residents have access to clean water, sewer and electricity.

“The debris clearance having been completed means people can go forward and move on with their lives. I’ve authorized 1,044 units of transitional housing to be built,” said Green. “You will start seeing those housing, units in the next probably 3-5 days.”

The governor said that in addition to getting wildfire survivors out of hotels, the state also worked to expand health care to address wellness and resiliency, approved a position for a state fire marshal, and put fire sensors and weather stations into place to better response during red flag warnings.

This comes as Hawaiian Electric Company implements its Public Safety Power Shutoff or PSPS program to preemptively shut off power to high-risk areas in the event of extreme weather conditions, in an effort to help keep the public safe.

“We probably spent what’s fair to say about $400 million on recovery,” said Green. “Federal government is headed towards $3 billion right now. We tend to spend about 10% of the cost in in 90:10 split. In some cases, we pay zero. I was able to negotiate about a $250 million reduction in our responsibilities by extending that window, where it’s 100% paid for by the federal government. That’s what my trips to D.C. and to these governors’ conferences are about,” he said.

A number of special events marking one year after the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfires will pay tribute to the 102 victims and the two that remain missing. The events are designed to honor the resiliency of a community that has faced crisis and heartbreaking tragedy, and offer residents opportunities to gather in healing and shared support. The series of remembrance events, presented as Kuhinia Maui, will take place Aug. 8 – 11, 2024.