Painful reminder: Maui faces long, steep climb to recovery from August 2023 wildfires

Congress’ $1.6 billion in federal wildfire disaster relief funding falls more than four times short of Maui’s unmet needs, now estimated at almost $7.7 billion in the aftermath of the August 2023 wildfire disaster. The original damage estimate was $5.52 billion.

That federal funding gap, combined with expected skilled construction labor shortfalls, supply chain challenges and other uncertainties, including an increasingly unfriendly political environment in Washington, D.C., all raise concerns about what can realistically be achieved in Lahaina’s reconstruction, especially in the short-term.

On Saturday at the Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena Elementary School cafeteria in Lahaina, more than 100 residents turned out as Maui County officials hosted the first of three public meetings. The next meeting will be online at 3 p.m. March 11 (register at www.MauiRecovers.org/events), and the final meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. March 14 at the J. Walter Cameron Center, located at 95 Mahalani St. in Wailuku.

The public meetings are being held for the community to learn about and provide input on the County’s 88-page draft Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Action Plan, soon to be known far and wide by the acronym “CDBG-DR.”

Mayor Richard Bissen led off Saturday’s meeting, acknowledging the shortfall of available federal funding for Maui County’s unmet needs. “In other words, we’re not going to be able to get everything that is needed to get back to 100%, not with this round of funding,” he said.

“The County administration will continue to seek funding wherever we can,” Bissen said.

The mayor also emphasized that the draft plan has not been finalized. It’s a “starting point” stemming from nearly a dozen community meetings so far, he said.

Bissen said the meetings are being held not because they’re required by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. “We’re doing this hearing so that we can share with you what we know; what we’ve learned; and how you folks can contribute,” he said.

More than 19 months ago, a wildfire fanned by hurricane-force winds consumed much of Lahaina town, turning it within hours to ash and debris. The fire claimed at least 102 lives and destroyed more than 2,200 structures, primarily residential homes.

Even with federal financial support, including insurance payouts and a portion of the $4 billion wildfire liability settlement, many property owners will struggle to rebuild. Moreover, distribution of the federal funds is contingent upon HUD’s approval of Maui County’s plan, a process expected to take until the summer. Implementation is estimated to take place in the fall of this year.

Delays may be exacerbated by federal staffing cuts, particularly within HUD’s disaster recovery division under the Trump administration. Earlier this month, US Rep. Jill Tokuda joined 47 of her colleagues in urging HUD officials to reconsider proposed cuts to the Office of Community Planning and Development, which administers the CDBG-DR program. 

She cited a recent New York Times report that the Trump administration plans to cut staffing at the office by 84%, from 936 employees to 150.

When asked about reports of Trump administration job cuts and how they might impact recovery funding for Maui, County Office of Recovery Administrator John Smith said: “We’re working with HUD right now daily, and we’ve asked that same question. And, they’ve given us no indication that these funds are in jeopardy in any way. In fact, we submitted our first request for a chunk of those funds (the administration action plan), and they are recommending approval.”

As far as additional funding being sought, Smith said the County is seeking money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the US Environmental Protection Agency. The largest source of FEMA funding is for public assistance, he said. EPA disaster funding is for potable water and wastewater infrastructure.

Another challenge for residents is seeing how they fit within eligibility guidelines for CDBG-DR funding. Lahaina resident Tekiri Villa, whose home went up in flames near the bottom of Lahainaluna Road, examined the income qualifications and quickly saw her household of seven wouldn’t qualify.

“It’s heartbreaking,” said Villa, a registered nurse who’s married with children ranging from 12 months to 10 years old. The disaster aftermath comes at a difficult time when her children need stability but have moved three times and gone to different schools.

When asked about Villa’s situation, Smith said he couldn’t accurately assess it without more information, but she might have a chance for CDBG-DR funding after the program attempts to help those most vulnerable first.

The most vulnerable include kūpuna, low- to moderate-income households (based on a Maui County median income of $110,800 per year), people experiencing homelessness and people with physical, mental and developmental disabilities.

Villa said her family has home insurance, but it’s only expected to pay about 30% of the $1 million replacement cost of her residence.

Carolyn Auweloa, chief operations officer with the Lahaina Community Land Trust, expressed support for public comments about prioritizing fire safety and in helping longtime residents rebuild first.

“First and foremost, we should make sure our people that are here are going to stay here, and that should be a priority,” she said.

Auweloa said what she finds “terrifying” is that a form of gentrification follows in the wake of disasters. “That’s what scares us,” she said. “That’s what keeps us up at night.”

“This $1.6 billion is great in that it represents a lot of help, but if that help is not combined with protections in place to ensure that we can safeguard against the gentrification pressures that are coming, we are going to be another statistic like New Orleans, like Houston, like Florida. And, I don’t want to see that happen to this place,” she said.

Recently, the Maui County Council approved a resolution providing up to $5 million to the Lahaina Community Land Trust from the County’s Managed Retreat Revolving Fund.

“I know I speak for a lot of us when I say what makes Lahaina special is the people,” Auweloa said. Lahaina landowners need to be protected against predatory real estate behavior, and “we gotta watch ourselves too because we are vulnerable to it.”

Protections include deed restrictions in excess of 20 years, she said.

“This is a pivot point that can ensure our future generations, grandkids, great-grandkids have a future in Lahaina, and Lahaina can continue to be the special place we know it to be, and not completely sold out.”

Smith said he worries too, mostly about the amount of time people are waiting to see government assistance programs provide funding needed to rebuild.

“We’re moving as fast as we can,” Smith said. “But what keeps me up at night is: Are we going to move fast enough? So, we’re going to keep pushing as fast as we can so that people have a place to live.”

Aside from what’s happening on Maui, there are forces at work beyond our shores that are expected to make rebuilding difficult.

For example, supply chain constraints and workforce availability are expected to be strained further by recent wildfires in Southern California that blackened 37,000 acres and destroyed more than 16,000 structures.