Latest Fire Recovery News

Last year, over 56,000 wildfires burned 2.6 million acres, destroying over 4,300 home and commercial structures across the United States, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. None were as catastrophic as the Lahaina wildfire on Aug. 8, 2023, which included over 2,300 residences destroyed on Maui.

The center is located at the County of Maui Service Center, 110 Alaihi St., Suite 207, and is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Representatives from 4LEAF Inc. are on hand to answer any questions residents may have regarding the streamlined emergency permitting process.

The County of Maui Office of Recovery and Department of Planning will hold a neighborhood planning workshop for Wahikuli residents to share their thoughts on topics specific to the area with county staff from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the Lahainaluna High School Cafeteria.

As Lahaina transitions into a new phase of recovery, HI-EMA is pleased to announce the relocation of the DRC to the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa at 200 Nohea Kai Drive, effective Monday, April 29. In addition, HI-EMA is introducing the new Community Resources Center at the Royal Lahaina Resort.

Gov. Josh Green, M.D., announced the extension of the One ‘Ohana Fund registration deadline to May 31, 2024, with completed claim forms now due no later than July 1, 2024. This will provide survivors additional time to determine whether they want to seek compensation from the fund. The previous deadline was April 30, 2024.

Student teaching assistant Ryan Chang will earn two associate of applied arts degrees in May (one specializing in culinary arts and the other specializing in baking and pastry). He played a key role in the college’s emergency production of thousands of meals in the aftermath of the August wildfires. 

Since the Aug. 8, 2023 wildfires, nearly 2,000 individuals are still being housed in hotels on Maui. The Federal Emergency Management Agency reports that currently, 1,969 survivors are sheltered in nine hotels and other sites. The agency provided an update on housing, spending and resources as wildfire recovery nears the nine month mark.

The County of Maui Office of Recovery is urging wildfire property owners who opt for the Alternative Debris Removal Program to stay informed by signing up online for important notices.

The federal disaster center at the Lahaina Civic Center is moving to Hyatt Regency, and a state resource center will open at Royal Lahaina Resort in the coming days.

The Ka La‘i Ola interim housing development for wildfire survivors in West Maui received a significant boost today as the Hawai‘i Community Foundation through its Maui Strong Fund, announced a $40 million grant to local nonprofit HomeAid Hawai‘i.

Rotarians on Maui and Oʻahu—and in Japan—donate energy storage systems to ʻOhana Hope Village, an emergency housing project in Puʻunēnē, through Project Empower.

Mayor Richard Bissen and Managing Director Josiah Nishita updated Maui County Council members Thursday morning on the status of the county’s request for state funding to help with the staggering costs of rebuilding infrastructure destroyed in the Aug. 8-9 wildfires disaster.

The grand opening of Kaulana Mahina Apartments—a workforce housing development in Wailuku—took place on Thursday, April 18. This event comes at a time when the chronically undersupplied housing market on Maui has been further impacted by the devastating fires of last August.

Officials from US Army Corps of Engineers, state Department of Health and other agencies will discuss the status of debris clearing, how trees in the burn zone are determined to be hazardous and testing for shoreline water quality during this week’s meeting.

Gov. Josh Green, M.D., has announced a new partnership with HomeAid Hawai‘i to build Ka La‘i Ola, a project that will create 450 units for wildfire survivors on Maui who were not eligible for FEMA assistance. Ka La‘i Ola is the largest interim housing development announced for Maui wildfire survivors to date. Groundbreaking will soon be announced. 

Lahaina will be the second Branch of Tomorrow on Maui. The first is Kīhei, which opened in 2017. Bank of Hawai‘i has served the people of Lahaina for nearly a century—beginning with its first branch in the area on Front Street in 1930. In addition to the new branch, Bank of Hawai‘i Foundation donated $100,000 to Hawai‘i Community Lending for the Lahaina Homeowner Recovery Program.

The Hawaiʻi Supreme Court ruled that the Board of Land and Natural Resources, through the State Attorney General’s office, acted in bad faith when it alleged there was not enough permitted water to fight the Aug. 8 wildfires because of an earlier ruling that capped the amount of water diverted from East Maui streams.

The County of Maui offered clarifications and response on details contained in the Attorney General’s Lahaina Fire Comprehensive Timeline Report, which was released on Wednesday. The Phase One report contains information related to Mayor Richard Bissen’s presence in the County Emergency Operations Center, the timing of his request for a Maui Emergency Proclamation, and the County’s efforts to comply with requests for documents. The County Communications Office issued clarifications, defending actions and efforts to provide timely response during and in the wake of the Lahaina Wildfire Disaster.

The County’s new Recovery Permitting Center is slated to open April 29, 2024, in Kahului, and a satellite location is in the works for Lahaina, the County of Maui announced Saturday.

The County of Maui reports that findings from sampling and monitoring for the first 90 days of operation at the Olowalu Temporary Debris Storage site are in compliance with county, state and federal environmental regulations.