Maui County Council members held space on Thursday for reflection and solace in honor of the West Maui and Upcountry communities following the August 2023 wildfires. Council Chair Alice L. Lee said the one-year anniversary of the wildfires was one of many times Maui County residents have gathered to support and uplift each other. Remembrance […]

A number of special events marking one year after the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfires takes place this week, paying tribute to the 102 victims and the two that remain missing. The events are designed to honor the resiliency of a community that has faced crisis and heartbreaking tragedy, and offer residents opportunities to gather in healing and shared support.

“We got a request for help late on the night of Aug. 8, 2023, and we deployed a boat and three personal watercraft from the Māʻalaea Small Boat Harbor. Normally the 13-mile trip takes a half hour. With hurricane force winds in our face and very rough sea conditions it took us more than an hour to get to Lahaina,” said DOCARE Lt. Jeff Kinores.

Several hundred people paddled surfboards and canoes, and hundreds more watched from shore at Hanaka‘ō‘ō Beach Park on Thursday morning in a Lahaina Paddle Out event to commemorate lives lost and changed forever by the Lahaina wildfire disaster a year ago.

In the aftermath of the devastating Maui wildfires, two University of Hawaiʻi Maui College students are helping their community recover under the guidance of UH Mānoa and UH Maui College faculty members.

Nine-year-old Maddie Ellner felt heartbroken to read about last year’s Maui wildfires, the destruction of the Lahaina Library and, especially, keiki who lost everything. The Orange County resident decided to take action: collect used books from family and friends to replace books lost on Maui in the wildfires, or be sold to buy new books.

As state, county and federal leaders gathered to reflect on the one year mark since the devastating Maui wildfires, Gov. Josh Green, M.D. announced he signed papers to “purposefully transition” Mokuʻula from the state to Maui County for its cultural restoration.

On Aug, 8, 2023, strong winds drove wildfires out of control on Maui– resulting in the worst natural disaster in Hawaiʻi’s history and one of the worst American wildfires of the last century. Nearly all of the town of Lahaina was destroyed, and Kula was significantly damaged. 3,971 properties, including homes, businesses, and schools were destroyed. The property damage was estimated to be as high as $6 billion. A staggering 102 lives were lost.  The Hawaiʻi Department of Human Services has since released a One Year of Progress: Recovery and Healing from the Maui Wildfires report.

The series of remembrance events, presented as Kuhinia Maui, will take place Aug. 8 – 11, 2024. Today, the County hosts a “Paddle Out” and ocean gathering from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in waters off Hanaka‘ō‘ō Beach Park across from the Lahaina Civic Center. Shuttle details and drop-off instructions are posted at KuhiniaMaui.org. For air safety and to respect privacy, no drones are allowed.

As the one year mark since the deadly Aug. 8, 2023 wildfires is upon us, state and county leaders reflect upon the loss, recovery and vision for the future.

In the wake of the devastating wildfires on Maui last August, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Hawaiʻi has been involved in several community efforts to help those impacted by the tragedy. One of these efforts is a grassroots collective called Laukanaka to provide and deploy traditional Native Hawaiian healing practices to those impacted by the Maui wildfires.

FEMA Contracting Officer Demetria Carter recalls that not a single local vendor ultimately awarded a FEMA contract had ever been registered before on the federal government’s System for Award Management, or SAM.gov. She did her research and reached out to companies that provide a variety of services on Maui.

Nearly a year after the Maui wildfires, about 300 wildfire survivors are still waiting for the opportunity to move into 72 units at the ʻOhana Hope Village across from King’s Cathedral in Kahului.

On Aug. 7, the eve of the anniversary of the 2023 wildfires that destroyed 3,071 homes, two more families from Lahaina received keys to temporary homes at the La‘ikū housing site.

A year after devastating fatal wildfires swept through Maui, teachers across the island continue to deal with the tragedy’s profound impact and acknowledge the crucial role played by their union, the Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association, in recovery efforts.

Within days of the worst natural disaster in state history, University of Hawaiʻi researchers began providing assistance and support on multiple fronts, including providing direct support and assessing the environmental impact and the long-term health outcomes of residents. They have also studied how to improve disaster preparedness and wildfire mitigation efforts and worked to determine the short- and long-term economic impacts.

“Having an understanding of Hawaiian culture, its outlook and its behaviors, and how it manifests into our communities, was extremely important for people to know,” said Hōkūlani Holt, Maui cultural practitioner in a FEMA interview.

Ahead of the one-year anniversary of the devastating Maui wildfires, the most comprehensive study focused on understanding and mitigating the health and social impacts of the fires, has received a $1.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue its groundbreaking work.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs will release the first of five digitized historic Lahaina collections on its Papakilo Database on Aug. 8, 2024, one year to the day after the devastating Maui wildfires. The collection is the result of a collaborative partnership with the Lahaina Restoration Foundation.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency reflected upon a challenging year marked by the Aug. 8 wildfires disaster. FEMA administrators say major recovery projects highlight the community’s resilience and the role of FEMA in supporting rebuilding efforts.