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The state, in partnership with the nonprofit Project Vision Hawai‘i, has opened Puʻuhonua o Nēnē, a temporary shelter for Maui wildfire survivors who were experiencing homelessness before the disaster. The temporary shelter, located at the corner of Hāna Highway and Mayor Elmer F. Carvalho Way in Kahului opened on Friday, Sept. 29.

The Maui Police Department has narrowed its list of unaccounted for individuals from the Aug. 8 Lahaina wildfire to 12 people. The updated list was released on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023.

Recent US Census data reveals that the continental US now houses more Native Hawaiians than the state of Hawaiʻi, confirming prior demographic predictions.

The Maui Police Department identified one more victim of the Aug. 8 Lahaina fire on Friday: Allen John Constantino, 25, of Lahaina.

Senator Angus McKelvey and Representative Elle Cochran sent a letter to Governor Josh Green urging him to abandon the hard date of Oct. 8 for the reopening of tourism to West Maui.

Maui Mayor RIchard Bissen said that he was reassured by the American Red Cross, FEMA and the State of Hawai’i that residents displaced by the Aug. 8 fires who are sheltering in hotels will be able to continue to do so past Sept. 30 if they have completed registering with FEMA and the Red Cross.

In preparation for a sold-out Maui Interscholastic League football game (Lahainaluna vs. Baldwin) on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023, War Memorial Complex facilities and some surrounding areas will be temporarily closed to the public that day.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Communications Commission will conduct a nationwide test of two key emergency alert systems on Wednesday, Oct. 4. The tests of the Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts will take place at 8:20 a.m. HST.

FEMA has 100 temporary vacancies on Maui and Oahu that start as 120-day appointments and may be extended up to one year. The SBA positions can be for at least a year and, in some cases, as long as seven years, some with a travel requirement.

Online applications for disaster relief financial support will begin Oct. 1, 2023, from the Maui Disaster Relief initiative by the Hawaiʻi Catholic Community Foundation, and all of Maui’s 10 Catholic churches.

“I’m really pleased. From the first photographs I saw it looked like everything was gone and that’s not the case. There are important historic buildings here that I think can be repaired,” said State Historic Preservation Division Administrator Dr. Alan Downer.

Kaiser Permanente will host three, no-cost Parenting After Tragedy classes to help parents understand and address the emotional and psychological needs of their keiki following the devastating Maui wildfires.   

Kolohe Kai and special guest Matisyahu Cydeways perform their upbeat reggae style on Saturday (Sept. 30) during a stop of their summer tour at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center’s A&B Amphitheater.

As the deadline to fund the federal government nears, US Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) called on colleagues in the US Senate and House of Representatives to pass the Senate’s bipartisan continuing resolution to keep the government open and avert a disastrous shutdown.

“From Hawaiʻi to Vermont, our nation has been hit hard by natural disasters. For those struggling with substance abuse and mental health problems, these are even darker times.  This critical legislation will expand the Crisis Counseling Assistance and Training Program to ensure we can respond quickly when people need us most,” said Rep. Tokuda.

The Hawaiʻi Department of Health is reporting one additional case of mpox in an O‘ahu resident. This is the first case of mpox diagnosed in Hawaiʻi since November 2022.

“I think that’s a huge consideration that needs to be in place before we open, so everybody knows what to do. I think that’s one of the problems—the one road in and one road out for our schools is systemic in the poor planning decisions which amplified the tragedy of the fires,” said Elizabeth Bowen, a teacher at Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena Intermediate School.

As of this week, about 800 households in non-congregate sheltering had not yet established full eligibility. Those households are receiving a letter asking them to contact the Red Cross within 48 hours, by phone or in person at the hotels where they are staying, to provide the missing information.

A unique plant first seen in the high forests of West Maui in 2020 has now been officially recognized as a new Hawaiian species. The plant, now named Clermontia hanaulaensis, was found during routine surveys by botanist Hank Oppenheimer of the Plant Extinction Prevention Program, a partnership with DLNR and the University of Hawai‘i.

During the first Congressional fact-finding hearing about the deadly Aug. 8 Lahaina fire, members of the US House Energy & Commerce subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations grilled Hawaiian Electric President and CEO Shelee Kimura about de-energizing power lines, wildfire mitigation efforts and replacing above ground lines connected to wood poles with buried lines.