In Case You Missed It

As of Friday, 1,372 residential properties in Lahaina had been cleared of ash and debris, representing 98% of the homes destroyed in the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfire disaster, according to Col. Eric Swenson, Maui Wildfires Recovery Field Office commander with the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Spirits were lifted for hundreds of West Maui families this week, as Sacred Hearts School celebrated the blessing of their new temporary campus on Friday.

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 natural rivalry between King Kekaulike High School and Kamehameha Schools Maui on the gridiron has grown over the last three decades, but it has risen to new, unprecedented heights the last three years. “It’s built up for years now and I’ve seen this program grow from when I was small, but I think this year it is heavier than it’s ever been because we go back and forth with some of those guys,” said ‘A‘ali‘i Valle of King Kekaulike. “We’ve seen some of them at a couple clinics and we’re just, like, ‘No, we’re going to beat you guys this year.’ It’s our turn.”

Hana Hou Hospitality restaurants will be closed on Aug. 8, 2024, the one-year anniversary of the Lahaina wildfire disaster that killed 102, destroyed thousands of structures and left thousands more homeless.

To commemorate the one year mark since the Kula wildfire—and showcase how much still needs to be done to clean up from last year’s disaster—Mālama Kula, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that was formed in the wake of the Kula Fire, will be doing what they’ve been doing for 12 straight months—holding 30 consecutive volunteer cleanup days for the entire month of August.

After everything she has been through, Lahaina-native Cheira Cappal can rest assured her first year of college is penned in black ink, with only opportunity lying ahead.

“So, there’s a lot of options on the table if the county owns it. Private companies don’t get to apply for those funds,” Council Member Gabe Johnson said of the benefits of a Maui County-owned ferry system.

Two hālau from Maui brought home multiple awards from 2024 Queen Liliʻuokalani Keiki Hula competition held at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, July 25-27. The event, now in its 49th year, drew hundreds of participants from 18 hālau across the state, with the largest contingent of 57 dancers coming from Wailuku, Maui.

For possibly the first time in generations, Native Hawaiian students had a special opportunity to witness and speak to the oldest and largest known ʻōhiʻa lehua tree on Maui during this past Hālau ‘o Kapikohānaiāmālama (Summer and Extended Learning Program) at Kamehameha Schools Maui.

A fire reported early Thursday morning that burned approximately 25 acres in Waiehu mauka of Kahekili Highway near Maka’ala Drive was declared 100% contained Friday morning, Maui Fire Department officials said.

“Last year after the fire, it was chaos. … So, this year is totally welcome because we are at our home stadium, we know school is going to be here. It’s just so good to be back out here,” Lahainaluna head coach Dean Rickard said.

Maui County residents are worried, stressed by the islands’ high cost of living and four in 10 are considering giving up and moving away, according to interviews of 2,646 residents, including 1,105 directly impacted by the August 2023 wildfires.

The Maui Planning Commission heard more than seven hours of often impassioned testimony Tuesday, then deliberated nearly three hours before recommending that the Maui County Council approve a bill to phase-out of thousands of short-term rentals in apartment districts, mostly in South and West Maui.

La‘ikū will provide 16 two-bedroom, one-bath units at 560 sq. ft. each. The homes are being built on approximately two acres of land that was previously acquired by the HDOT as part of the Lahaina Bypass project. Monthly rent for homes in La‘ikū will be $1,750, which tenants can pay via personal funds, rental assistance from FEMA, or insurance proceeds. The $3.9 million project is funded by HCF and the state of Hawai‘i and developed by CNHA, which has a five-year revocable permit to use the HDOT parcel at no cost. Completion is scheduled for September 2024.

“It’s important because it is connected to a much larger set of lands that go all the way to the summit (of the West Maui Mountains),” said Scott Fretz, the Maui branch manager of DLNR’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife. “Fires often start at those mauka lands and come down in the direction toward the highway. And often they start at the highway and go up this parcel into the mauka lands. So, that connectivity is important.”

For the Mathers, homeownership seemed unattainable. The constant threat of displacement from their beloved ‘āina loomed over them. Jen Mather, alongside her husband Richard and their children Kūmoanaākea, 15, and Keolaonākai’elua, 14, expressed profound gratitude: “Nā Hale O Maui has made it possible not only for myself and my keiki to continue living here in Maui Komohana but also for the seven generations to come after us. We commit, along with Nā Hale, to keep this house affordable in perpetuity.”

As many as six initial ignition locations were found when crews arrived on scene to fight the Piʻihana Road fire on Monday morning. The fire was first reported at 9:16 a.m. on July 22, 2024. It burned a total of four acres before forward progress was stopped at 11:36 a.m., and it was fully contained at 2:45 p.m. One firefighter was treated at the scene for heat distress, according to fire officials.

“If we can understand them, understand their behavior and what they’re doing, then it can tell us a lot about some of the changes that are taking place in the ocean. The whales are amazing themselves, but they’re even more valuable when we think about them as these, basically, indicators of ocean health.” — Marc Lammers, research ecologist with the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary

Epic Swim Maui’s Andy Donaldson, John Kalemakali’i Clark, Ryan Leong and Stefan Reinke are still able to become the first to successfully complete the circumnavigation of Maui.