Council member Tamara Paltin introduced Bill 95 (2023), which she said would exempt properties destroyed or rendered uninhabitable by the August wildfires from property taxes and create an incentive for hotels and short-term rentals to house residents displaced by the fires.

Maui United Way, a charitable nonprofit serving Maui for more than 75 years, created and implemented an Emergency Financial Assistance program that received more than 9,000 applications, and has now successfully distributed payments of $1,000 to more than 7,000 individual fire survivors on Maui. Maui United Way has now launched the second round of grants to assist its local Maui nonprofit partners.

Governor Josh Green, M.D., with Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen, state officials, FEMA and the American Red Cross joined in providing an update on the economic recovery and housing response on Maui following the devastating Aug. 8 wildfires.

Lahaina’s two elementary schools reopened to hundreds of students today on a shared campus that faculty and staff from both schools have worked hard to make as inviting and familiar as possible for their communities impacted by the August wildfires.

Aloha Festivals five-days of culture and fun starts Saturday with a parade; Oktoberfest and Kōkua for Lahaina raise funds for Maui wildfire victims; and Haunted Hawaiian Ghost Stories and the musical Rocky Horror Show pave the way for Halloween. Find our comprehensive listing HERE.

To help people like Vierra, Native Hawaiian Matt Jachowski has used his skills as a software developer to create the website Maui Hale Match, which he hopes will make it easier for displaced fire survivors to connect with homeowners and landlords that have available units they can afford. But his data shows the affordability gap is huge.

County of Maui Disaster Area Restrictions will be lifted for owners and residents with vehicle passes from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. beginning Friday, Oct. 20, and Saturday, Oct. 21, in Zone 14A and 14B. ZONE 14A includes a portion of Front St. ZONE 14B includes portions of: Aholo Rd., Front St., Kaeo Pl., Kahili Pl., Kamano Pl., Kua Pl., Ui Pl.

A donation drive is being held at the Queen Ka’ahumanu Center in Kahului for prom and formal dresses, tuxedos and suits so teenagers at Lahainaluna High can create lasting memories at their Senior Ball this winter and Junior Prom in the spring.

Lahaina Intermediate School faculty and staff cheered and waved signs as they welcomed approximately 400 students back to their West Maui campus for the first time this academic year.

A “Kōkua for Lahaina” benefit concert will be held at the Kīhei Charter School on Oct. 21 with a goal to raise at least $7,500 for the Maui Strong Fund.

The Maui Police Department on Monday identified one more victim of the Aug. 8 Lahaina fire: Michael Misaka, 61, of Lahaina.

The County of Maui is identifying fire-damaged or destroyed vehicles found on public roadways and other right-of-way areas following the August 2023 Maui wildfires. County officials say there were an estimated 1,000 vehicles that were in public right-of-way areas following the fires.

Lahainaluna High School faculty and staff welcomed approximately 700 students back to their home campus on Monday for the first time in more than two months since the Maui wildfires.

Maui small businesses hit by this summer’s wildfires are getting financial support to participate in this year’s Hawaiian Airlines Made in Maui County Festival, happening on Nov. 3 and 4, 2023 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center.

A team of researchers from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa are sampling West Maui reefs to assess the impact from the toxic ash from the Lahaina wildfire.

Preliminary, unvalidated data from ash sampling received late Friday night shows very high levels of arsenic, and elevated levels of lead and cobalt, in wildfire ash collected in Kula — and ash in the Lahaina burn zone is expected to have a similar profile, the Hawaiʻi State Department of Health announced on Sunday.

Applications will begin to be accepted on Oct. 20 for a temporary financial assistance program that helps families with at least one dependent child who have been directly affected by the Maui fires.

Cook Solutions Group, a banking security company based in Portland, Ore., has teamed up with Quality Trailers to support Lahaina food truck owner, Dee Rodrigues, who lost her home and food trailer in the devastating wildfires on Aug. 8.

A coalition of Native Hawaiian Organizations has formed Hoʻōla Maui, which pledges to dedicate their technical expertise and organizational capacity to the clean-up effort of the August fires.

The Maui County Department of Water Supply on Friday removed Area UK-3 from the Unsafe Water Advisory for Upper Kula.