The long-awaited draft plan, released last week, also calls for improving communication networks, expanding evacuation routes and boosting emergency response technology and staffing.

Starting Wednesday, Oct. 30, the County of Maui’s Disaster Recovery Community Update Meetings will be held at a new location in the cafeteria at Lahaina Intermediate School. The school is located at 871 Lahainaluna Road; the cafeteria is makai of the main parking lot.

To further expand housing options in West Maui for wildfire survivors, FEMA is working with Maui County and Lahaina property owners to place Alternative Transportable Temporary Housing Units on secondary private properties. These properties will house individuals and families who were displaced by the August 2023 wildfires. The property must allow for the placement of two or more temporary units. Properties must be within the West Maui area.

In partnership with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement is offering emergency rental and utility assistance to Native Hawaiian families financially impacted by the wildfires on Maui and Hawai‘i Island.

A coalition of dedicated community leaders has announced the formation of the Hoʻōla iā Mauiakama Disaster Long Term Recovery Group, aimed at delivering ongoing recovery assistance to residents impacted by the August 2023 wildfire disaster.

Motorists are advised of potential traffic delays as 10 modular homes for wildfire survivors are transported from Kahului Harbor to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Kilohana temporary housing site in Lahaina. The hauling is scheduled nightly from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 27 through Wednesday, Oct. 30.

Even with the political factions that have split the council in recent years, candidates on both sides of the aisle are cautious when it comes to the mayor’s proposal of completely phasing out short-term rentals.

The Lahaina Homeowner Recovery Program announced that it will offer no-cost lot surveys for Lahaina homeowners who lived in their home before the Aug. 8, 2023, Maui wildfires. Funding for the lot surveys was provided through a $3-million grant to Hawaiʻi Community Lending from the Maui Strong Fund of the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation. 

Coast Guard members and good Samaritans who responded during the Aug. 8, 2023, Maui wildfires received international recognition and awards during a ceremony at the J. Walter Cameron Center in Wailuku, Friday.  Altogether, Coast Guard responders and the good Samaritans rescued 20 people and assisted approximately 40 more during the Maui wildfires. 

Residents are reminded that this week’s Lahaina Disaster Recovery Community Update meeting will not be held, due to the County of Maui’s open house being held at Lahainaluna High School from 4 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, on the Draft Lahaina Long-Term Recovery Plan. The event will take place in the school’s dining hall.

A draft of the County of Maui’s Long-Term Recovery Plan for Lahaina is available for online viewing and public feedback online starting today. In addition to the online feedback opportunity, the Lahaina community is invited to attend open houses on Wednesday, Oct. 23 from 4 to 7 p.m., and on Saturday, Oct. 26, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Lahaina Energy Partnership invites all Lahaina community members to join the upcoming Co-Design Workshop this Thursday, Oct. 24 at the Lahainaluna cafeteria. Doors open at 5 p.m., and the event occurs from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Dinner will be provided.

Motorists are advised of potential traffic delays as more modular homes for wildfire survivors are transported from Kahului to the Ka Laʻi Ola housing site in Lahaina, on Saturday night, Oct. 19 and the following Saturday night, Oct. 26.

The Maui County Department of Environmental Management and US Army Corps of Engineers have released a third quarterly report on ongoing activities at the Olowalu temporary wildfire debris disposal site.

Three new Maui Strong Fund opportunities are available as grants for programs that address solutions for interim- and long-term housing and mental health assistance, the Hawai‘i Community Foundation announced.

In an effort to protect their community from the threat of wildfires, homesteaders with residential lots at the Villages of Leialiʻi in Lahaina have completed a community hazard assessment with the Hawaiʻ Wildlife Management Organization.

David Kingdon, a paramedic with American Medical Response Maui County, has been named one of 33 Global Medical Response Stars of Life.

Ad 2 Hawaiʻi, a nonprofit organization composed of advertising professionals under the age of 32, today announced the opening of applications for its 2024-2025 Public Service Campaign. This initiative offers 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations across Hawaiʻi the opportunity to receive professional marketing services completely free of charge. The deadline to apply is Friday, Nov. 1 at 11:59 p.m. HST. 

With the National Weather Service’s cancellation of the red flag warning for all Hawaiian Islands, Hawaiian Electric has deactivated its Public Safety Power Shutoff watch. As a result, Hawaiian Electric did not shut off power to customers during the watch because of its PSPS program. Any power outages on Wednesday were unrelated to the PSPS program.

Maui wildfire survivors will receive an additional year of housing assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, following the approval of a state request on Monday to extend federal support.