Latest Fire Recovery News

To further expand housing options in West Maui for wildfire survivors, FEMA is working with Maui County and Lahaina property owners to place Alternative Transportable Temporary Housing Units on secondary private properties. These properties will house individuals and families who were displaced by the August 2023 wildfires. The property must allow for the placement of two or more temporary units. Properties must be within the West Maui area.

In partnership with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement is offering emergency rental and utility assistance to Native Hawaiian families financially impacted by the wildfires on Maui and Hawai‘i Island.

A coalition of dedicated community leaders has announced the formation of the Hoʻōla iā Mauiakama Disaster Long Term Recovery Group, aimed at delivering ongoing recovery assistance to residents impacted by the August 2023 wildfire disaster.

Motorists are advised of potential traffic delays as 10 modular homes for wildfire survivors are transported from Kahului Harbor to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Kilohana temporary housing site in Lahaina. The hauling is scheduled nightly from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 27 through Wednesday, Oct. 30.

Even with the political factions that have split the council in recent years, candidates on both sides of the aisle are cautious when it comes to the mayor’s proposal of completely phasing out short-term rentals.

The Lahaina Homeowner Recovery Program announced that it will offer no-cost lot surveys for Lahaina homeowners who lived in their home before the Aug. 8, 2023, Maui wildfires. Funding for the lot surveys was provided through a $3-million grant to Hawaiʻi Community Lending from the Maui Strong Fund of the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation. 

Coast Guard members and good Samaritans who responded during the Aug. 8, 2023, Maui wildfires received international recognition and awards during a ceremony at the J. Walter Cameron Center in Wailuku, Friday.  Altogether, Coast Guard responders and the good Samaritans rescued 20 people and assisted approximately 40 more during the Maui wildfires. 

Residents are reminded that this week’s Lahaina Disaster Recovery Community Update meeting will not be held, due to the County of Maui’s open house being held at Lahainaluna High School from 4 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, on the Draft Lahaina Long-Term Recovery Plan. The event will take place in the school’s dining hall.

A draft of the County of Maui’s Long-Term Recovery Plan for Lahaina is available for online viewing and public feedback online starting today. In addition to the online feedback opportunity, the Lahaina community is invited to attend open houses on Wednesday, Oct. 23 from 4 to 7 p.m., and on Saturday, Oct. 26, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Motorists are advised of potential traffic delays as more modular homes for wildfire survivors are transported from Kahului to the Ka Laʻi Ola housing site in Lahaina, on Saturday night, Oct. 19 and the following Saturday night, Oct. 26.

David Kingdon, a paramedic with American Medical Response Maui County, has been named one of 33 Global Medical Response Stars of Life.

With the National Weather Service’s cancellation of the red flag warning for all Hawaiian Islands, Hawaiian Electric has deactivated its Public Safety Power Shutoff watch. As a result, Hawaiian Electric did not shut off power to customers during the watch because of its PSPS program. Any power outages on Wednesday were unrelated to the PSPS program.

The County of Maui has approved with conditions building permits for Kahoma Village to reconstruct four multi-family buildings totaling 24 units that were destroyed in the August 2023 wildfires. 

The Hawaiʻi Housing Finance & Development Corp. Board of Directors approved last month a proposed public acquisition of the Front Street Apartments destroyed in the Aug. 8-9, 2023, Lahaina wildfire disaster, although there was some uncertainty about rebuilding in the burn zone.

Giving in FY24 included nearly $10 million for programs to benefit relief and recovery from the August 2023 wildfires on Maui, including $1 million from the Stupski Foundation that issued immediate cash payments to UH students within a week of the fires.

A west coast alliance of Rotary Clubs has donated $32,500 to Project Empower, a nonprofit organization formed in 2023 by Oʻahu-based RevoluSun Solar, to aid in building temporary housing solutions for those affected by the deadly wildfires in Maui last August. 

The meeting will include a status report on debris clearing by the US Army Corps of Engineers, an update on the progress of the Kilohana temporary group housing site from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and a presentation from Samaritan’s Purse about its US Rebuild Program.

The Maui Wildfire Exposure Study (MauiWES) is putting on a wellness festival at the UH Maui College Great Lawn this Saturday, Sept. 28 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. All are welcome to come together for a day of fun and wellness.

The County of Maui Department of Fire and Public Safety received the Lahaina Fire Summary of Findings and Conclusions report from the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. Maui Fire Chief Brad Ventura was briefed by ATF on the report today, Sept. 25, 2024. 

US Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) called for additional disaster relief funding when Congress returns in November. Speaking on the Senate floor, Schatz stressed the need to provide disaster survivors on Maui and in other disaster-impacted communities with flexible, long-term assistance in the form of Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding. The said this will enable them to rebuild their homes and communities as quickly as possible.