The Maui Humane Society has more than 600 animals in their care, including 145 in foster homes, and nearly 300 are cats that survived the Aug. 8, 2023 wildfire.

Maui police today confirmed the identity of Lydia Coloma, 70, of Lahaina as a victim of the Aug. 8, 2023 wildfire in West Maui. Coloma was previously on a list of unaccounted for individuals, which has now dropped to three people. The latest confirmation completes the public identification process for the 100 known fatalities from the Lahaina fire.

Hawaiʻi County producers incurred $100,000 in total losses while Maui County producers incurred $23 million in total losses. Producers estimated the reduction in sales revenue at $5.1 million, the reduction in agritourism revenue at $3.9 million, the value of livestock losses at $75,000, the value of crop damages at $5.4 million, and property damages at $8.5 million.

After paddling miles and hours on the ocean, two kayakers ended up off the shore of Launiupoko, and there it was: a humpback mother whale “tail sailing” beside her calf.

Comprising 10 bills and two resolutions, the measures reflect the bipartisan efforts of six interim House working groups that collaborated with subject experts and various agencies and engaged in extensive discussions relating to the Lahaina wildfire.

Maui County has planned an informational workshop from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 27, on the Right-of-Entry process for residential and commercial property owners. It will be held at the Lahainaluna High School cafeteria, 980 Lahainaluna Road in Lahaina.

Hawaiian Electric is continuing restoration work to rebuild portions of the electric system in Lahaina in an effort to ensure safe and reliable power to all West Maui customers following the August 2023 wildfires. Ongoing restoration efforts include the rebuilding of transmission and distribution lines along former routes in the Lahaina area with the installation of new interim steel poles and electrical equipment.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness Hawaiʻi chapter and Mental Health America of Hawaiʻi are offering an in-person Maui Strong Support Group at the J. Walter Cameron Center, located at 95 Maharani St., Wailuku, in conference room 1, on Jan. 31 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

The House Committee on Health and Homelessness will hold an informational briefing on Wednesday to discuss the Maui Wildfire Exposure Study. The study is a collaborative effort between the University of Hawai‘i Economic Research Organization, the College of Social Sciences, the John A. Burns School of Medicine, UH Cancer Center and community-based organizations. The hearing […]

“Community land trusts are nonprofits that buy and own land with the purpose of keeping it in community control, to be used as the community determines. The buildings and homes on the land can be owned by individual families but are tethered to the land trust by a lease with terms determined by the trust. This allows the CLT and its members to make sure that the property is protected forever, and that it is used for purposes that serve the community, whatever the community decides that is: housing, culture, agriculture, etc..”

DOH has currently installed a total of 40 real-time air monitors and air samplers in Lahaina and Olowalu. DOH staff deployed four additional real-time air monitors on Jan. 18 and will continue to augment Maui’s air monitoring network as USACE debris removal work expands and continues.

Gov. Green announced a Housing Hawaiʻi’s ʻOhana plan, vowing to sign into law any legislation that will help move short-term rentals and vacant investment properties owned by non-residents into the local housing market. He also is said he would declare a moratorium on all short-term rentals in West Maui if he is unable to find enough housing for displaced families in the next six weeks.

At the end of a nearly four-mile walk, community organizer Archie Kalepa addressed a crowd gathered at Launiupoko saying, “The depth of our grief and the warmth of our aloha is overwhelming. Today marks a different kind of point in the history of this place.”

Prayer, ʻoli (chanting) and protocol were practiced during the Lele Aloha Hoʻūlu Lahaina Unity Walk held Saturday morning in West Maui. “We need to come together all of Hawaiʻi. We have the opportunity to rebuild Lahaina in a pono way,” said Kalepa. “Lahaina will take the lead but we need everyone’s support.”

The US Small Business Administration’s deadline for Federal Disaster Loan applications related to the Maui wildfires is Jan. 25, 2024.

The Maui Department of Water Supply amended the Unsafe Water Advisory for Lahaina to remove area L-4D. Water serving buildings and homes in areas L-4D is declared safe for unrestricted use effective Jan. 19, 2023.

Tia L. R. Hartsock, director of the Office of Wellness and Resilience was selected by the awards committee of the Hawai‘i Psychological Association to commemorate her work on the coordinated mental health response to the Maui wildfires.

The funds provided 2,150 meals to the Maui community between Nov. 15 through Dec. 15, 2023, which included 250 Thanksgiving meals to registered Lahaina families within the burn zone, 600 meals to families and keiki at a Keiki Christmas Bash, and 1,300 meals to school students.

The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation advises the traveling public to be aware of pedestrians walking along the Lahaina Bypass (Route 3000) and Honoapi‘ilani Highway (Route 30) on Saturday morning, Jan. 20, 2024. The Lele Aloha Hoʻūlu Lahaina Unity Gathering will host a Unity Walk beginning at 8 a.m. along the Lahaina Bypass, south of the Lahainaluna Road underpass. 

A milestone moment was reached on Wednesday as the first residential property was cleared of wildfire debris on Fleming Road in Lahaina. This comes following months of coordinated reentry activities that allowed residents to gain access to their properties and assess damage. Debris removal from residential properties in Lahaina began on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024.