The meeting will include an update on alleviating traffic by restoring Honoapiʻilani Highway as a secondary route for through traffic only, a presentation by Lahaina Land Trust and a report on the status of debris clearing by the US Army Corps of Engineers. The County of Maui Planning Department will do a review of the new Special Management Area/shoreline rules that were signed by Mayor Richard Bissen on July 26.

After a disaster or catastrophic event, insurance loss data specific to such an event is collected periodically from insurance companies doing business in the affected state. State insurance departments use the data for multiple reasons, including determining the total number of claims and insured losses, monitoring the solvency of domestic insurers to ensure they are financially sound to make claim payments to their insureds, and improving the overall experience of policyholders directly affected by a disaster.

In August 2023, as families and students were scattered across the island, Hawaiʻi Keiki’s Maui provider team mobilized to ensure access to care for Hawaiʻi Department of Education (HIDOE) students, assisting in shelters, providing virtual telehealth visits, managing health hotlines, and supporting the community through various efforts including partnering with Federally Qualified Health Centers for medical care, conducting health assessments, refilling prescriptions, and facilitating access to vaccinations in affected areas.

During community-inspired, County of Maui-supported tours called Remembrance Rides, nearly 600 Lahaina residents last weekend revisited their beloved Lahaina town for the first time since the devastating wildfires. The Remembrance Rides signaled the start of Kuhinia Maui, County-supported gatherings for residents that mark one year after the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfires.

The Kukui Mall parking lot was overflowing recently, spilling onto busy traffic on South Kīhei Road on a sultry summer night. A closer look revealed the reason: patrons crowding into Cool Cat Cafe, relocated last month to South Maui after wildfire destroyed its longtime Wharf Cinema Center location, across from the famed Banyan Tree in historic Lahaina town.

The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation has advised motorists that Honoapi‘ilani Highway between Keawe Street and Hōkiokio Place will re-open at noon Aug. 1 for through traffic only.

Maui County will hold focus groups early next month for Kuhua/Mill Camp property owners to discuss rebuilding in the area devastated by the August 2023 wildfire.

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 Rotary Club of Wailuku has announced the successful acquisition of a $50,000 grant from the Rotary D5000 Foundation Maui Fires Relief Fund. This grant will be used to support Piha Wellness and Healing over the upcoming fiscal year. These professionals will offer their services to individuals and families who have been impacted by the wildfires on Maui.

The project includes the installation of 52 weather stations on four islands. The weather stations, mounted on Hawaiian Electric utility poles, will provide meteorological data that will help the company to decide whether to activate and deactivate a public safety power shutoff, or PSPS. Under the PSPS program launched July 1, Hawaiian Electric may preemptively shut off power in areas that are at high risk of wildfires during periods of forecast high winds and dry conditions.

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.

Structural evaluations of the Pioneer Mill smokestack documented concerns about its condition, prompting the County of Maui Department of Public Works to close Lahainaluna Road between Honoapi‘ilani Highway and Kuhua Street, effective 3 p.m. Monday, July 22, 2024.

Maui County Council members unanimously approved today a resolution authorizing a global settlement of all wildfire litigation filed against the county for wrongful deaths, injuries and property damage stemming from the Aug. 8-9 wildfires in Lahaina and Upcountry.

The County of Maui Department of Environmental Management’s Wastewater Reclamation Division announced that it has amended the Sewer Service Status from “red,” which indicates a property does not currently have active sewer service, to “green,” meaning the sewer service is active for a property, in the following areas: Near Puʻunoa Place and Ala Moana Street near the Jodo Mission; and south of Lahainaluna Road near Paunau Street.

Lahaina homeowners impacted by the August 2023 wildfire are encouraged to attend the County of Maui Office of Recovery’s Homeowners Webinar on Thursday, July 25, 2024, at 5:30 p.m.

Koholā Brewery is set for a grand opening July 21 as a taproom and restaurant at the Wailea Village shopping center. This marks the second comeback for the independent craft beer brewery founded in Lahaina in 2014.

The Hawai‘i State Board of Education (Board) today approved the Hawai‘i State Department of Education’s (HIDOE) recommendation to grant a waiver that would allow for the closures of the Lahaina public schools on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Lahaina wildfires. 

The US Environmental Protection Agency recently completed its Drinking Water and Wastewater mission in Lahaina as part of a multi-agency emergency response to the 2023 Maui wildfires. This mission is helping the County of Maui restore drinking water and wastewater services to the community in the wildfire-impacted areas of Lahaina.

The Rotary Club of Lahaina Sunset will host Lahaina Restoration Foundation President David Allaire on Aug. 6 for a talk on post-wildfire recovery efforts.

The meeting will include a presentation on the status of sampling and monitoring of the Olowalu Temporary Debris Storage site, sewer infrastructure updates and an update from the Parks Department. The US Army Corps of Engineers will report on the status of debris clearing.