The US House Committee on Energy & Commerce is holding a subcommittee fact-finding hearing on Thursday in Washington, D.C., to investigate the role of electric infrastructure in the “catastrophic Maui fire” in Lahaina on Aug. 8 that killed at least 97 people.

West Maui residents can update their voter registration in-person at the Government Relations, Ethics, and Transparency Committee on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023, at the Westin Maui’s Honoapiʻilani Ballroom, starting at 8:30 a.m.

The Maui Police Department identified six more victims of the Aug. 8 Lahaina fire on Tuesday: Felimon Quijano, 61; Luz Bernabe, 64; Joel Villegas, 55; Adela Villegas, 53; Angelica Baclig, 31; and Junmark Quijano, 30. All are from Lahaina.

The Unified Command and the primary contractor, Global Diving & Salvage, have removed, to date, over 2100 gallons of product from vessels in the vicinity of Lahaina Harbor.

FEMA will be fronting the initial $5.36 million in funding for a temporary campus on 10.2 acres in Honokōwai below the Kapalua Airport. The build time for the temporary site will be around 95 days.

Three Soil & Water Conservation Districts and the County of Maui are working with the federal Emergency Watershed Protection Program to quickly address widescale environmental damage caused by the August wildfires.

The University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization launched a publicly available, interactive housing data dashboard on Sept. 26, that allows users to customize their data reports based on location, with information such as property and rental market, demographics, zoning and housing stock. UHERO designed the dashboard to inform discussions on the way forward for housing in Hawaiʻi.

In response to the devastating impact of the recent wildfires, Haku Baldwin Center, a Makawao-based nonprofit specializing in therapeutic and educational equine-assisted services, announced the opening of a free mental health and wellness program for Maui’s first responders and their families.

“Although our clinic was spared from the fire, that wasn’t the case for three of our staff members who have been displaced. The most difficult news is that our Patient Service Coordinator Laurie Allen remains in critical condition in Straub Hospital with the burn wounds she sustained in her evacuation from her home,” said Director of Clinics Tiffany Prangnell. 

The Maui County Council’s Government Relations, Ethics and Transparency Committee will meet on Wednesday at 9 a.m. at The Westin Maui Resort and Spa in Kāʻanapali in the Honoapi‘ilani Ballroom, to receive testimony on a resolution to develop a comprehensive recovery and resiliency plan in response to the August wildfires.

Residents in all but one of the affected homes in Zone 1C of the Maui Wildfire Disaster Area applied for and received vehicle passes to return to their properties Monday on Kaniau Road in Lahaina.

About 225 people showed up to a Krank Cycles event, and in a little more than two hours, all 400 donated bikes were assembled for children and adults affected by the Maui fires.

This price freeze, which is scheduled to remain in effect until Nov. 6, 2023, unless terminated or superseded by separate emergency proclamation, does not extend beyond the Island of Maui. During this declared emergency, the price freeze now in effect for the Island of Maui means that the essential goods and services that are subject to the price freeze must be sold at pre-emergency price levels.

The Maui Police Department identified one more victim of the Aug. 8 Lahaina fire on Monday: Matsuyuki Osato, 83, of Lahaina.

The Dr. Bobby and Julie Baker Foundation has provided free laptop computers to seven accomplished Maui County high school students. Most of the students were directly or indirectly impacted by the Maui wildfires on Aug. 8.

Today, US Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, led the Hawaiʻi Congressional delegation in a letter to Isabel Guzman, Administrator of the US Small Business Administration, urging the agency to extend the physical damage loan application deadline for people impacted by the Hawaiʻi wildfires.

As part of this relief effort, UHMC culinary students will prepare 1,800-2,500 meals daily to feed Maui residents who have transitioned from emergency shelters to hotels and other temporary housing situations. The number of meals and residents served will adjust based on changing needs. For their time, UHMC culinary students will receive $16 an hour, a $1,459 Education Award provided by AmeriCorps, and access to health care benefits. 

The free virtual webinar by nonprofit Child Life Disaster Relief will run from 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 30.

The Maui Police Department identified six more victims of the Aug. 8 Lahaina fire on Sunday: Michael Morinho, 61; Ediomede Pavian Castillo, 35; Alfred Rawlings, 84; Maria Victoria Recolizado, 51; Justin Recolizado, 11; and Terri Thomas, 62. All were from Lahaina.

Keiki O Ka ‘Āina Family Learning Centers of Maui is actively hiring for various positions with a focus on supporting families and children affected by the Lahaina fires.