Latest Fire Recovery News

Dedicated members of Rotary Maui Fires Relief Advisory Committee, alongside Rotary D5000 District Governor Ted Faigle, visited the University of Hawai’i Maui College to see how Rotary support for student vocational training was conducted at the college’s Food Innovation Center.

The Ah Hees are days away from their final inspection and plan to spend Thanksgiving surrounded by loved ones more than a year after they were displaced by the August 2023 fire.

The County Department of Environmental Management will provide updates on three key areas of recovery: an update on areas that have had sewer service restored; a brief update on the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Wahikuli sewer project; and information regarding the County’s recently announced agreement to acquire land from Nan, Inc., adjacent to the Central Maui Landfill, that would be used for the Permanent Disposal Site of Lahaina fire debris.

The County of Maui has entered into conditional agreements with a subsidiary of Nan, Inc., Hawai‘i’s largest, locally owned construction company, to purchase approximately 49 acres of previously quarried land and 30 acres of land currently being quarried adjacent to the Central Maui Landfill. The 30 acres of land would be available upon completion of quarrying activities. The $4 million agreements, pending approval by the Maui County Council, aim to secure a suitable, long-term disposal site for debris from the August 2023 Lahaina wildfires and address the island’s future landfill needs.

Schatz is set to press Administration officials on recovery efforts on Maui in a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Wednesday. “We cannot leave town for the holidays next month without passing the long-term relief that survivors need and deserve. This is not optional. We need to get this done,” said Sen. Schatz.

This year, 23 businesses raised more than $8,800 and 1,761 pounds of food through the end of October, which combined will provide 50,710 meals to individuals and families across the Maui Food Bank’s network.  

Online feedback on the draft of the County of Maui’s Long-Term Recovery Plan for Lahaina is currently open on www.MauiRecovers.org/lahaina. The deadline to submit feedback is Friday, Nov. 15, 2024.

The Hawaiʻi Department of Health is issuing Guidance for Existing Cesspool Use in Residential Kula, Maui. It was developed in an effort to support Kula residents affected by the wildfires, working to rebuild and reoccupy their homes.

Since launching its expanded wildfire safety strategy one year ago, Hawaiian Electric reports making significant improvements to reduce wildfire risk from its equipment. Actions include a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) program, replacing and testing thousands of utility poles, upgrading miles of overhead power lines, clearing instrusive vegetation near electrical equipment, and installing weather stations and AI-assisted high definition […]

Lahainaluna Road will officially reopen for unrestricted public access at 6 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, according to an announcement from the County of Maui.

A joint informational briefing hosted by the Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, the Committee on Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs, and the Committee on Energy, Economic Development, and Tourism takes place at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. The purpose of this joint informational briefing is for Hawaiian Electric Company to present its Wildfire Mitigation Plan, which was ordered by the Public Utilities Commission.

The County of Maui Department of Environmental Management’s Wastewater Reclamation Division announced that it has amended the Sewer Service Status from “red” to “green,” meaning sewer service is now active for 15 properties including: one lot on Kaili Place, six lots near Kopili and Kuhua streets, and eight lots near Mall Place and Ainakea Road.

Residents are encouraged to attend the County of Maui’s Weekly Disaster Recovery Community Meeting at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6, in the Lahaina Intermediate School cafeteria. The meeting will include a presentation by Keʻeaumoku Kapu on the work of Nā ʻAikāne of Maui and the cultural monitoring program in place for debris cleanup in Lahaina.

Motorists are advised of potential traffic delays as modular homes for wildfire survivors are transported from Kahului to the state’s Ka Laʻi Ola housing site and the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Kilohana site, both in Lahaina.

Projects would boost on-call staffing and technology used by the county’s emergency management agency, as well as improve evacuation access.

Alpha, Inc. in partnership with Dynamic Group, FEMA, and local subcontractors, announced the commencement of the Kilohana Temporary Housing Project in Lahaina. This initiative aims to provide much-needed housing for families affected by the 2023 wildfires, helping them return to the westside of Maui.

Habitat for Humanity Maui announced it is the recipient of a $3 million donation from Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez. This contribution, one of the largest in the organization’s history, will directly support Habitat Maui’s ongoing efforts to address Maui’s urgent need for affordable housing, especially in light of the recent wildfires and the worsening housing crisis on the island, organization leaders said.

“Whose Future?” draws solely from the public record to tell the story of how the community sought to shape its own land use future. This narrative gains renewed relevance in light of the tragic August 2023 fire, as West Maui faces complex decisions around disaster relief and rebuilding.

The long-awaited draft plan, released last week, also calls for improving communication networks, expanding evacuation routes and boosting emergency response technology and staffing.

Starting Wednesday, Oct. 30, the County of Maui’s Disaster Recovery Community Update Meetings will be held at a new location in the cafeteria at Lahaina Intermediate School. The school is located at 871 Lahainaluna Road; the cafeteria is makai of the main parking lot.