Latest Fire Recovery News

Maui County is offering assistance to residents taking a survey to share their input on the permanent location for ash and debris removed from the Aug. 8 wildfire burn zones in Lahaina.

A $50,000 donation was gifted to Family Life Center for Maui wildfire-relief efforts during check presentation Sunday. The funds, provided by South Korea’s Yoido Full Gospel Church will support the 88 unit ʻOhana Hope Village emergency housing project.

The Maui Strong Fund of the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation has awarded a $155,000 grant to the Maui Emergency Feeding Taskforce, a grassroots community effort coordinated by Common Ground Collective.

The Red Cross today announced the daily feeding program will come to an end on Feb. 10, 2024 for Lahaina wildfire survivors residing in condominiums with kitchens as part of the non-congregate sheltering program. While daily feeding will no longer be included for the specified group, the Red Cross announced a new partnership with Maui Food Bank that supports the establishment of a fixed food hub on the West side and the launch of a mobile food pantry service to supplement household food needs.

Maui visitor arrivals were up in December to the highest levels in the nearly five months since the August Lahaina wildfire disaster, according to preliminary statistics from the Hawaiʻi Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

After his appointment to the 10th House District seat and the beginning of this year’s lawmaking session, Tyson Miyake is reading hundreds of bills, attending countless meetings and finding he’s not just another fresh face at the Hawaiʻi Legislature.

Two West Maui locations and the Central Maui Landfill are under consideration as permanent disposal sites for an estimated 400,000 cubic yards of ash and debris to be removed from Lahaina wildfire burn zones.

As of Friday, Jan. 26, the Federal Emergency Management Agency reported that 5,290 people remained housed in 28 hotels as part of the program.

One of the two stolen large redwood Lahaina signs was returned last week following reports of community dismay and a plea to get the signage back where it belongs, according to the Lahaina Restoration Foundation.

Maui Economic Opportunity’s Head Start Lahaina site, the only preschool in town spared by the Aug. 8 wildfires, will reopen Thursday, Feb. 1, following extensive cleaning, repairs, renovations and clearances for health and safety.

The community is encouraged to learn more about the status and process of selecting a Permanent Disposal Site for ash and debris from the Lahaina wildfire at the County of Maui Disaster Recovery Community Update meeting at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 31, at the Lahaina Civic Center.

The Maui Humane Society has more than 600 animals in their care, including 145 in foster homes, and nearly 300 are cats that survived the Aug. 8, 2023 wildfire.

Maui police today confirmed the identity of Lydia Coloma, 70, of Lahaina as a victim of the Aug. 8, 2023 wildfire in West Maui. Coloma was previously on a list of unaccounted for individuals, which has now dropped to three people. The latest confirmation completes the public identification process for the 100 known fatalities from the Lahaina fire.

Hawaiʻi County producers incurred $100,000 in total losses while Maui County producers incurred $23 million in total losses. Producers estimated the reduction in sales revenue at $5.1 million, the reduction in agritourism revenue at $3.9 million, the value of livestock losses at $75,000, the value of crop damages at $5.4 million, and property damages at $8.5 million.

Comprising 10 bills and two resolutions, the measures reflect the bipartisan efforts of six interim House working groups that collaborated with subject experts and various agencies and engaged in extensive discussions relating to the Lahaina wildfire.

Maui County has planned an informational workshop from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 27, on the Right-of-Entry process for residential and commercial property owners. It will be held at the Lahainaluna High School cafeteria, 980 Lahainaluna Road in Lahaina.

Hawaiian Electric is continuing restoration work to rebuild portions of the electric system in Lahaina in an effort to ensure safe and reliable power to all West Maui customers following the August 2023 wildfires. Ongoing restoration efforts include the rebuilding of transmission and distribution lines along former routes in the Lahaina area with the installation of new interim steel poles and electrical equipment.

The House Committee on Health and Homelessness will hold an informational briefing on Wednesday to discuss the Maui Wildfire Exposure Study. The study is a collaborative effort between the University of Hawai‘i Economic Research Organization, the College of Social Sciences, the John A. Burns School of Medicine, UH Cancer Center and community-based organizations. The hearing […]

“Community land trusts are nonprofits that buy and own land with the purpose of keeping it in community control, to be used as the community determines. The buildings and homes on the land can be owned by individual families but are tethered to the land trust by a lease with terms determined by the trust. This allows the CLT and its members to make sure that the property is protected forever, and that it is used for purposes that serve the community, whatever the community decides that is: housing, culture, agriculture, etc..”

DOH has currently installed a total of 40 real-time air monitors and air samplers in Lahaina and Olowalu. DOH staff deployed four additional real-time air monitors on Jan. 18 and will continue to augment Maui’s air monitoring network as USACE debris removal work expands and continues.