State and local government leaders joined the Federal Emergency Management Agency in reflecting upon the one year mark since the Aug. 8, 2023 Maui wildfires. Leaders shared their focus on a shift toward long-term recovery while supporting the community’s resilience as it moves forward.

Matson has committed to donating $5 million in cargo transportation services to state- and county-supported Maui recovery projects, including housing. The Ka La‘i Ola project by HomeAid Hawaiʻi, the state, Maui County and Hawai‘i Community Foundation, is the first to benefit from Matson’s assistance. HomeAid Hawai‘i and its contractors are on track to complete the first 270 units by December 2024 and the remaining 180 units by the first quarter of 2025. Starting Aug. 9, 2024, Ka La‘i Ola will be welcoming ‘ohana in phased openings. 

On Tuesday, Global Empowerment Mission (GEM) Hawaiʻi unveiled its warehouse stocked with beds, comforters, and other household essentials to begin its aid to at least 300 wildfire-afflicted homeowners in a multi-year rebuilding process.

In observance of the one-year mark since the Aug. 8, 2023, Maui wildfires, the Office of Recovery-West Maui in Lahaina Gateway will be closed on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. 

Hui O Ka Wai Ola will share findings from a biannual report that outlines ocean water quality conditions along a 40-mile stretch of Maui’s leeward coast. The organization will also share notable trends and patterns indicated by monitoring coastal water quality in key areas around the island, giving focus to new data from the areas of Lahaina, North Kīhei and Lāna’i.

Like a flame-thrower fueled by hurricane-force winds, the Lahaina wildfire raced mauka to makai, reducing whatever stood in its path to smoke, ash, concrete blocks and twisted metal. Then it reached the town’s iconic Banyan Tree.

The US Army Corps of Engineers will break ground next week on a critical sewer line project for the Kilohana temporary housing development, which will support 169 housing units for wildfire survivors. This project will enhance the community sewer system for Fleming Road residents and allow for future expansion.

One year after the devastating wildfires that impacted the people of Maui, White House Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood Randall — representing President Biden — FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell and US Fire Administrator Dr. Lori Moore Merrell will join county and state officials on Maui to commemorate the one year mark in support of the community. 

Offering a hand to survivors since the day after the deadly wildfires, Maui Economic Opportunity will be closed Thursday ­– the first year mark since the 2023 fires. MEO staff have been personally involved in helping those impacted by the wildfires, providing rent/mortgage, utility, vehicle, clothing and school supply assistance, business bridge grants and jobs for those impacted and staff for about 45 host sites.

In a significant move to address the escalating food needs of the Maui community in the aftermath of last year’s devastating wildfires, Maui Food Bank and the American Red Cross have partnered to launch a new fixed distribution center, “Da Market.” This new facility, located at 48 Ulupono Street in Lahaina, spans 4,000 square feet and includes both a warehouse and market area, creating a welcoming and supportive environment for those in need.

Gov. Josh Green, M.D., today announced that the first Maui wildfire survivors have moved into units in the Hale ʻO Lāʻie interim housing project (formerly the Haggai Institute) in Kīhei.

As of Friday, 1,372 residential properties in Lahaina had been cleared of ash and debris, representing 98% of the homes destroyed in the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfire disaster, according to Col. Eric Swenson, Maui Wildfires Recovery Field Office commander with the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Humanitarian aid organization, World Vision returns to West Maui this week to host several distribution drives for families affected by last year’s wildfires. During the week of Aug 5, World Vision will host distribution events in Kahului and Pukalani.

US Sen. Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) delivered remarks on the Senate floor marking one year since the devastating Maui wildfires. In her speech, Hirono paid tribute to the individuals lost in the fires, honored the resilience of those impacted by the fires, and also emphasized the need for Congress to pass a supplemental funding bill to provide the resources that Maui, and other communities across the country impacted by disasters, will need.

Spirits were lifted for hundreds of West Maui families this week, as Sacred Hearts School celebrated the blessing of their new temporary campus on Friday.

The first dozen or so Ka Laʻi Ola temporary housing units are nearly ready for occupancy by wildfire survivors in pre-fab, futuristic NanoNest tiny homes with curved ends and floor-to-ceiling transparent walls that take advantage of views of the ocean and West Maui Mountains.

On Friday, Maui County lifted an unsafe water advisory that had been in place for nearly a year for parts of hard-hit Lahaina town after the Aug. 8 wildfire disaster, Department of Water Supply Deputy Director James “Kimo” Landgraf announced.

Today, following months of good faith negotiations, the County signed a Term Sheet with key participants in the lawsuits arising out of the tragic Maui wildfires of August 8, 2023. The agreement outlines the framework for a global settlement that would resolve claims and disputes related to the fires that devastated Lahaina and other communities on the island. 

The Hawaiʻi Community Foundation today released its Maui Strong Fund One-Year Impact Report sharing the impact of grants deployed to support the immediate and long-term recovery of the people and places affected by the devastating wildfires on Maui in August 2023. 

The nonprofit Homestead Community Development Corporation (HCDC) added eight housing units on Maui to its housing portfolio over the last six months. The rental units (located in Wailuku, Lahaina and Kīhei) are first dedicated to wildfire impacted families over the next three years; and then to permanently affordable rental units for Maui citizens.