Fire Survivor Resources

Staff from US Rep. Jill Tokuda’s office will continue to hold office hours every Wednesday at the Lahaina Civic Center from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to assist Maui residents and businesses with issues or problems they are having with federal agencies. 

Goodwill Hawaiʻi was recently awarded a new one-year contract by the State of Hawaiʻi DLIR Office of Community Services to provide Employment Core Services to Lahaina’s immigrant population or any other Maui resident who was displaced from work as a direct or indirect result of the Maui fires in August.

Mayor Richard Bissen will host a series of talk story sessions for residents of Kula and Lahaina who have been impacted by the Aug. 8 fires. Sessions will be held for small groups to offer time for participants to share mana’o and ask questions.

Two Maui community emergency hubs that have been supporting the needs of those harmed by the wildfire disaster are now partnering with Kupu: The Kāʻanapali Hub and Nāpili Hub are now able to provide paid positions via Kupu while they continue to meet the urgent needs of their community. As the initial phase of this partnership, Kupu’s EŌ Maui has 15 participants on payroll between the two hubs.  

An estimated 200 affordable rentals are under construction in Lahaina as part of the Kaiāulu o Kūku′ia project, which includes Hawaiʻi’s very first Bezos Academy preschool. 

County of Maui Disaster Area Restrictions will be lifted for owners and residents with vehicle passes from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., weather permitting, beginning Friday and Saturday, Dec. 8 and 9, in Zones 8A and 8B. 

Mayor Richard Bissen’s Weekly Disaster Recovery Community Update Meetings resume this week at 6 p.m. in Kula on Tuesday (tonight) and at 5:30 p.m. in Lahaina on Wednesday after being canceled last week due to the kona low weather system. 

Imua Family Services is planning a new preschool in Wailuku for children displaced by the August wildfires on Maui.

Starting Monday, Dec. 4, Island Grocery Depot in Lahaina will extend its hours to open earlier at 6:30 a.m. Monday through Saturday.

An outreach event to reach noncitizen families with dependent children, who could be eligible for Maui Relief TANF Program benefits, will be held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 10, in Lahaina.

The purpose of the Rental Assistance Program (RAP) is specifically to help survivors of the Maui wildfires who are not eligible for FEMA assistance. RAP will work to secure housing for up to 12 months for eligible households by connecting them with Airbnb or through the Hawai‘i Housing Finance and Development Corporation (HHFDC) Hawai‘i Fire Relief Housing Program.

The national nonprofit Operation HOPE continues to have offices in Kīhei and Lahaina to help survivors and businesses affected by the Maui wildfires.

County of Maui Disaster Area Restrictions will be lifted for owners and residents with vehicle passes from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., weather permitting, beginning Monday, Dec. 4, and Tuesday, Dec. 5, in Zones 10A, 10B, 10C and 10D. Some residential and commercial properties in these zones have been deferred by the federal Environmental Protection Agency for health and safety reasons.

The Compacts of Free Association or “COFA” Community Resource Fair, which features wildfire relief program information and signups and assistance with legal and immigration issues, will be held today, Friday, Dec. 1, from 1 to 6 p.m. at Maui Economic Opportunity in Wailuku.

The US Environmental Protection Agency today reports it has completed its work under Phase 1 of the federal response to the wildfires in Lahaina and the Upcountry Maui communities.

Hawai‘i Community Foundation and grassroots organization Tagnawa announced funding support committed to redefining disaster response for Lahaina’s Filipino community affected by the Maui wildfires.

The Kahului Disaster Recovery Center at Maui College is suspending operations Wednesday, Nov. 29, because the forecast shows locally heavy rains, thunderstorms and possible flooding over the next three days. 

Mayor Richard Bissen submitted to the County Council a bill to amend a section of the County Code in an effort to immediately increase the inventory of housing available to survivors of the August wildfires.

County of Maui Disaster Area Restrictions will be lifted for owners and residents beginning Friday and Saturday, Dec. 1-2, for Zones 11B, 11D, 11E, 11F and 13D. Those with vehicle passes will be granted access from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., weather permitting.

The weekly Disaster Recovery Community Update Meetings for Kula residents at 6 p.m. Tuesdays and for Lahaina residents at 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays are canceled this week due to the kona low weather forecast.