Latest Fire Recovery News

Darryl Oliveira, interim administrator for Maui Emergency Management Agency, said Maui County is working with partner agencies to speed up the process for thousands of residents still anxiously waiting to return to their homes that were destroyed — or survived in the burn zone — of the Aug. 8 fire.

The Maui County Council will hold a special council meeting Thursday, Oct. 5 at 8 a.m. on a debris-removal bill and a regular council meeting Friday, Oct. 6 at 9 a.m on amending the fiscal year 2024 budget and other matters.

An online petition demanding a delay to the planned reopening of West Maui to tourism on Oct. 8, has garnered more than 10,000 signatures.

More than 2,500 families had established full eligibility for non-congregate sheltering as of Monday morning, Oct. 2, up from about 2,200 on Friday, Sept. 29, the Red Cross reported.

The Maui County Council’s Disaster, Resilience, International Affairs and Planning Committee will meet at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4, to receive updates on recovery efforts in response to the August 2023 wildfires, including temporary and transitional housing.

Elected officials and community leaders  joined together on Saturday, Sept. 30, at Puʻuhonua o Nēnē, a temporary shelter, to bless the newly established facility for Maui wildfire survivors who were homeless pre-disaster.

The state, in partnership with the nonprofit Project Vision Hawai‘i, has opened Puʻuhonua o Nēnē, a temporary shelter for Maui wildfire survivors who were experiencing homelessness before the disaster. The temporary shelter, located at the corner of Hāna Highway and Mayor Elmer F. Carvalho Way in Kahului opened on Friday, Sept. 29.

The Maui Police Department has narrowed its list of unaccounted for individuals from the Aug. 8 Lahaina wildfire to 12 people. The updated list was released on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023.

The Maui Police Department identified one more victim of the Aug. 8 Lahaina fire on Friday: Allen John Constantino, 25, of Lahaina.

Senator Angus McKelvey and Representative Elle Cochran sent a letter to Governor Josh Green urging him to abandon the hard date of Oct. 8 for the reopening of tourism to West Maui.

Maui Mayor RIchard Bissen said that he was reassured by the American Red Cross, FEMA and the State of Hawai’i that residents displaced by the Aug. 8 fires who are sheltering in hotels will be able to continue to do so past Sept. 30 if they have completed registering with FEMA and the Red Cross.

In preparation for a sold-out Maui Interscholastic League football game (Lahainaluna vs. Baldwin) on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023, War Memorial Complex facilities and some surrounding areas will be temporarily closed to the public that day.

“I’m really pleased. From the first photographs I saw it looked like everything was gone and that’s not the case. There are important historic buildings here that I think can be repaired,” said State Historic Preservation Division Administrator Dr. Alan Downer.

As the deadline to fund the federal government nears, US Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) called on colleagues in the US Senate and House of Representatives to pass the Senate’s bipartisan continuing resolution to keep the government open and avert a disastrous shutdown.

“From Hawaiʻi to Vermont, our nation has been hit hard by natural disasters. For those struggling with substance abuse and mental health problems, these are even darker times.  This critical legislation will expand the Crisis Counseling Assistance and Training Program to ensure we can respond quickly when people need us most,” said Rep. Tokuda.

“I think that’s a huge consideration that needs to be in place before we open, so everybody knows what to do. I think that’s one of the problems—the one road in and one road out for our schools is systemic in the poor planning decisions which amplified the tragedy of the fires,” said Elizabeth Bowen, a teacher at Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena Intermediate School.

As of this week, about 800 households in non-congregate sheltering had not yet established full eligibility. Those households are receiving a letter asking them to contact the Red Cross within 48 hours, by phone or in person at the hotels where they are staying, to provide the missing information.

During the first Congressional fact-finding hearing about the deadly Aug. 8 Lahaina fire, members of the US House Energy & Commerce subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations grilled Hawaiian Electric President and CEO Shelee Kimura about de-energizing power lines, wildfire mitigation efforts and replacing above ground lines connected to wood poles with buried lines.

County of Maui Disaster Area Restrictions will be lifted for owners and residents with vehicle passes from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 2, and Tuesday, Oct. 3, in Zones 2C, 2D and 2E, which includes homes on Kuʻuipo Street, ʻAʻa Street and Lokia Street.

“Like you and I, our people have questions. We all deserve answers. Right now, the most important question must be, how do we keep the help coming?” – US Rep. Jill Tokuda