In Case You Missed It

As West Maui prepares for the return of tourism on Oct. 8, restaurants and businesses are adjusting to the ongoing need of residents while also gauging services for visitors. Since Aug. 10, Chef Peter Merriman and his team have fed thousands of displaced residents impacted by the fires, giving free meals to 1,000 people daily and serving approx. 45,000 meals in the first seven weeks of response. 

As the phased reopening of West Maui officially begins Sunday, the County of Maui is distributing a series of videos for the Maui community and its visitors.

“Taste Our Love For Maui” unites eight exceptionally talented chefs, each deeply connected to the island’s rich heritage for one-night only on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 6 p.m. at Humble Market Kitchin by Roy Yamaguchi and Wailea Beach Resort.

More than 450 people attended a virtual community meeting on Tuesday to get updates on the status of West Maui’s commercial and recreational vessel activities.

The Maui Arts & Cultural Center presents a return to Maui of the Hawai‘i International Film Festival (HIFF) with six feature films, a program of six short films, and a showcase of four documentaries. All screenings will take place in the MACC’s McCoy Studio Theater starting Friday, Oct. 27 and concluding Sunday, Oct. 29.

Several festivals on Maui to benefit Maui wildfire victims are coming up, including a donation drive for the Maui Food Bank and for musicians left with no home and instruments. Find our comprehensive listing HERE.

Mauiʻs Jason Arcilla from Pukalani, secured a spot on Team Gwen by singing “Dreams,” by Fleetwood Mac. The moment was captured on Season 24 of NBC’s The Voice, which aired on Tuesday evening, Oct. 3, 2023.

The Maui Police Department on Tuesday identified Laurie Allen, 65, of Lahaina as a victim of the Aug. 8 Lahaina fire. She had sustained burn wounds during evacuation from her home, according to earlier reports.

A newly-launched Host Housing Support Program will provide monthly stipends of up to $1,500 to eligible households who are providing shelter to individuals and families displaced by the Maui wildfires.

Volunteer arborists and landscapers have banded together as the Lahaina Treescape Restoration Project. The title was coined by arborist Steve Nimz who initiated care and watering for the historic Banyan tree, which is showing signs of recovery with new sprouts high in the canopy.

The woman reported to authorities that while she was surfing a shark she described as a 10-12-foot-long Galapagos shark bit her board and launched her into the air. She landed on the shark which then bit through her board leash, according to an account detailed by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. Officials say she was able to get back onto her board and swim to shore without further incident.  

An online petition demanding a delay to the planned reopening of West Maui to tourism on Oct. 8, has garnered more than 10,000 signatures.

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.

“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.

“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.

Polynesian Voyaging Society CEO Nainoa Thompson today announced a major change to the Moananuiākea Voyage sail plan.  In the wake of the devastating fires on Maui, Hōkūleʻa will return home from San Diego, California in late December, before continuing on the circumnavigation of the Pacific.  

The ‘ukulele-powered band Kanekoa, the Vince Esquire Band and Grammy-nominated Natalie Ai Kamauu perform at benefits for Maui wildfire victims this weekend. Find our comprehensive listing HERE.

FEMA will be fronting the initial $5.36 million in funding for a temporary campus on 10.2 acres in Honokōwai below the Kapalua Airport. The build time for the temporary site will be around 95 days.

Residents in all but one of the affected homes in Zone 1C of the Maui Wildfire Disaster Area applied for and received vehicle passes to return to their properties Monday on Kaniau Road in Lahaina.

The report shows Maui lost more than $13 million of visitor spending each day in the weeks following the fire. With the planned Oct. 8 reopening of unaffected West Maui resort areas, economists are not anticipating a rush to travel, but a gradual recovery instead.