The Public Utilities Commission today approved Hawaiian Electric’s 2025-2027 Wildfire Mitigation Plan and completed a comprehensive study on whether to establish a wildfire recovery fund.

In 2025, US Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) worked to protect Hawai‘i from significant cuts to federal funding and helped secure more than $1 billion for Hawai‘i to support Maui’s ongoing recovery, expand high-speed internet, and improve airports and infrastructure.

The Lahaina Restoration Foundation, with the support of Hawaiʻi Rotary District 5000, announced the completion and opening of two new exhibition kiosks at Lahaina Cannery Mall. These displays offer Maui residents and visitors a free, fresh, and engaging way to connect with Lahaina’s rich history and ongoing story of resilience.

Coffee Stop West Maui — a locally owned, family-run drive-thru coffee trailer, has opened at 263 Lahainaluna Road. They are the first independently owned coffee business to reopen in Lahaina Town since the 2023 wildfire, according to owners.

The Lahaina Restoration Foundation announced its new leadership team, introduced at the LRF Annual Meeting held recently at the Lahainaluna High School Cafeteria. Ekolu Lindsey has been named President of LRF, bringing his deep roots in Hawaiian cultural and environmental stewardship to guide the organization’s mission of preserving Lahaina’s historic and cultural resources.

These deployable assets strengthen emergency communications in some of the nation’s most hazard-prone and geographically complex environments. The equipment ensures that critical connectivity for Hawaiʻi first responders can quickly be restored independent of commercial infrastructure or power.

In coordination with state updates to its Lahaina Small Boat Harbor, certain County of Maui streets in Lahaina town near the harbor will reopen for daytime (8 a.m. to 6 p.m.) access starting Dec. 15, 2025, according to the County Office of Recovery. These streets have been closed and under repair since the 2023 Maui wildfires.

The Pioneer Mill Company/Lahaina Ice Company Bookkeeper’s House in Lahaina, more recently dubbed the “Miracle House” after the August 2023 wildfires on Maui, has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Maui County reached a significant benchmark in its recovery from the 2023 wildfires this week as rebuilding of the 100th structure was completed, the County of Maui Department of Public Works Development Services Administration announced Tuesday.

In a milestone for Maui Nui and Lahaina wildfire recovery, the DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation will resume limited commercial boat operations at Lahaina Small Boat Harbor starting Dec. 15, 2025, for the first time since the August 2023 wildfires.

The Maui County Council passed the contentious Bill 9 on first reading Monday, advancing a measure that would phase out thousands of transient vacation rentals currently operating in apartment-zoned districts, mostly in South and West Maui. The measure passed by a vote of 5-3 following a daylong meeting that included hours of emotional public testimony […]

Residents are encouraged to attend the County of Maui’s Lahaina Community Meeting at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025, at the Lahaina Intermediate School cafeteria.

The debris call center has closed and infrastructure at the Temporary Debris Storage site has been removed – marking distinct chapters in the ongoing recovery efforts after the 2023 wildfires.

Maui United Way, in partnership with Hā Sustainability, invites residents to participate in a short community survey to help prioritize sites for environmental assessment and cleanup through the Maui United Way Environmental Recovery Initiative.

Marking a significant chapter in rebuilding, the County of Maui Office of Recovery announced that eight families received First-Time Homebuyer Opportunity Program shopping letters today, which allow them to begin shopping for a house within their approved price range.

“We asked the Lahaina and Kula people what they need,” said J Moanikeala Whittle-Wagner of the Office of Academic Affairs as he reflected on how the shed project began. “They replied, ‘we need something to securely store our items on our property while we rebuild so we donʻt have to carry them back and forth every day.’” 

Maui Economic Opportunity offers an array of resources for Maui County residents dealing with the impacts of the federal government shutdown, changes to federal program requirements, 2023 wildfire recovery and general housing and utility crises and has been receiving numerous applications and inquiries about assistance programs.

Hawaiʻi Energy has announced the Maui Residential Rebuild Program, a new partnership with the Hawaiian Council, designed to help wildfire-impacted residents rebuild their homes sustainably and affordably.

The report shows that people with disabilities, both pre-existing and newly acquired after the disaster, continue to face disproportionate hardship two years after the fires. 

George Dacuycuy and his grandson, 21, are among the first applicants to get the go-ahead from the Ho‘okumu Hou first-time homebuyers program.