The Hawai‘i Community Foundation is awarding over $2 million dollars in Maui Strong Fund grants to 24 nonprofit partners providing culturally relevant and holistic mental health resources to families, individuals, and youth affected by the Maui wildfires. The nonprofit partners will use the funds to provide a broad range of services including art therapies, trauma-informed workshops, Hawaiian language and cultural immersion education, and peer-to-peer mental health support for youth.

The US Senate unanimously passed the Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act, which includes Tokuda and Hirono legislation to lessen the tax burden on survivors of the Maui wildfires. The bill now heads to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.

Maui residents displaced by the August 2023 wildfires have until Dec. 15 to submit new applications for the Hawaiʻi Interim Housing Program. Households with existing applications have until Jan. 15 to complete them.

Today, the full House of Representatives passed the bipartisan Lahaina National Heritage Area Study Act – introduced by US Rep. Jill Tokuda (HI-02) – marking another significant step forward in her efforts to support the community in recognizing Lahaina’s historic and cultural importance. 

After months of preparation, Habitat for Humanity Maui is embarking on the next step to help Maui wildfire survivors rebuild their homes and lives. The devastating wildfire that swept through Lahaina and Kula on Aug. 8, 2023, destroyed over 2,200 homes, leaving thousands of families displaced and in need of urgent support. The nonprofit organization has partnered with multiple community agencies to help survivors return to their homes, and is now calling on individuals, businesses, and organizations to join in this critical mission, providing the resources needed to restore stability for those affected.

The Teardrop of Lahaina Sculpture has received a festive makeover for the holiday season.

Hauling for the state’s Ka Laʻi Ola housing site in Lahaina will take place nightly on Friday, Nov. 29 and Saturday, Nov. 30 beginning at 9 p.m. The transport for the FEMA Kilohana project is scheduled nightly, beginning at 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 30 and Sunday, Dec. 1.

Once complete, the Kilohana modular housing project will become a temporary haven for up to 167 individuals and families – a Lahaina location where wildfire survivors can plan for the future. 

The first home to be rebuilt in Kula after the August 2023 wildfires was commemorated on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024, with a blessing, representing another step forward in recovery after the fires.  After all final inspections were completed last week, homeowner Thomas Liu, 83, said he will be moving out of a rental and into the completed two-bedroom, 860-square-foot cottage this month while work continues to rebuild the main house on his Kulalani Drive property. 

The US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted to advance the Lahaina National Heritage Area Study Act, legislation jointly introduced by US Sen. Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and US Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-HI). The bicameral legislation will direct the National Park Service, in coordination with Maui County and other state and local partners, to study the suitability and feasibility of a National Heritage Area designation for Lahaina. The bill now goes to the Senate Floor for consideration.

With the rebuilding of homes underway and the commercial cleanup nearly finished, businesses say the timing is crucial to rebuild and provide jobs for returning residents.

A pre-fabricated, fire-resistant building material known as mass timber can be shipped to Maui from the Pacific Northwest and reduce on-site construction by at least half, compared with traditional stick-built homes, according to Haʻikū architect David Sellers.

The Rotary Club of Lahaina Sunset announced Monday that it successfully secured a $96,000 grant from the Rotary D5000 Foundation’s Maui Fires Relief Fund, which they have used to aid the Spirit Horse Ranch, located in Kula.

The Folaumoeloa family became the first tenants of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Kilohana Group Housing on Friday, a long-awaited milestone for Ane, Lafaele and their three children. It marked the end of a nearly 15-month wait since the wildfires of Aug. 8, 2023, destroyed their Lahaina home, along with about 4,000 housing units.

In the first round of the Lahaina HERO Awards program, 300 Lahaina teachers, staff members and administrators will receive a monetary award ranging from $2,500 for eligible full time salaried employees to around $1,000 for part time staff and casual employees. The governor also announced a $20M Lahaina workforce housing project to build a 47 unit rental complex at Lahainaluna High School.

The State Historic Preservation Division is considering developing sensitivity maps and one archaeological monitoring plan that all residential and commercial property owners can use so they don’t have to develop and pay for individual ones.

Hundreds gathered at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa for the 2024 Piʻo Summit: Hulihia: Fire and Rain, a free series of forums focused on leveraging ancestral ʻike (knowledge) to support long-term recovery efforts for communities affected by the Lahaina wildfires and the 2018 Kauaʻi floods.

The Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are updating Maui wildfire survivors on the rental assistance program, which has been extended beyond Feb. 10, 2025. As part of this extension, FEMA will begin collecting rent from Direct Housing Assistance participants beginning March 1, 2025, based on their ability to pay. FEMA has begun the process of notifying affected families of this change.

The Ho‘ōla iā Mauiakama Long Term Recovery Group and All Hands And Hearts are inviting the community to participate in the “Lahaina Clean-Up Kōkua” this holiday season to help Lahaina residents impacted by the August 2023 wildfire. This community-driven effort will organize teams of volunteers to clear ineligible debris from fire-damaged properties, supporting residents as they prepare to rebuild.

The first two completed homes under the Housing for Healthcare initiative were blessed in a private ceremony held with the two new tenants and their families, both Maui healthcare professionals who lost their homes and belongings in the devastating Lahaina fires last year. The families moved into their homes this month.