#lahaina fire

Hawaiian Electric started work this week to replace wooden poles with steel and composite fiberglass on a key stretch of Honoapi’ilani Highway that it calls the “first targeted area of critical pole hardening.”

The National Disaster Preparedness Training Center at the University of Hawaiʻi recognized the County of Maui with the 2026 Community Resilience Leadership Award — marking the first time in the center’s history that the honor has been awarded to an entire county government.

Unsheltered homelessness on Maui climbed 40% while overall numbers remained essentially flat, according to results from the 2026 Homeless Point in Time Count released Wednesday.

A Hawaiʻi woman was sentenced to four months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, following her guilty plea to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The charge stems from allegations of stealing disaster relief funds, intended for Lahaina and Pacific Palisades fire victims.

The advisory council reviewed over 600 projects worth $2 billion before selecting the final 75 for recommendation, including several measures to improve hazard prevention and awareness after the 2023 Lahaina wildfires.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has extended its temporary housing and financial assistance to Feb. 28 for the approximately 1,500 people still receiving it.

Government shutdown and pause in SNAP benefits at the end of the year spurred even more need in the community.

Kumulani Chapel will soon have a permanent home in Kapalua Resort through a new agreement with Maui Land & Pineapple Company, Inc. The church will purchase more than six acres to establish a permanent campus for the longstanding West Maui congregation of 42 years.

With the transportation of debris from the Lahaina fire to its permanent site in Central Maui nearing completion, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has begun preparations to restore the land used for the temporary debris location in Olowalu.

Some farmers lost thousands of dollars in products when their generators couldn’t keep their operations going. But even the hardest-hit businesses and their neighbors say shutting off the power is a good measure to prevent another tragedy like the 2023 wildfires in Lahaina and Upcountry.

With the diligent help of the community, the sign was recovered and the members of Lahaina Rotary Club and Lahaina Restoration Foundation re-installed the sign on Friday. The second sign which stood across from Puamana Park will be installed at a future date.

Some property owners are seeing increases by as much as 50%, and even with a tax rate cut, they may still see a higher bill.

The Maui Food Bank, in partnership with the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Hawaiʻi Nutrition Center, offers healthy food demonstrations at Da Market in Lahaina by incorporating products that neighbors in the program can access at Da Market.

Representing 73 landowners, Front Street Recovery is committed to rebuilding the heart of Lahaina by restoring over 800 businesses and providing more than 7,000 jobs critical to supporting local families and the community.

In 2024, US Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) helped secure more than $6 billion in federal funding for Hawai‘i as he led efforts to deliver resources to support Maui’s recovery from last year’s fires and advance a range of other priorities for the state.

Shawn Lewis, who was known as “Bigfoot” by the local surfing community because of his partially amputated left leg, died from a gunshot wound in September.

The State Historic Preservation Division is considering developing sensitivity maps and one archaeological monitoring plan that all residential and commercial property owners can use so they don’t have to develop and pay for individual ones.

The first two completed homes under the Housing for Healthcare initiative were blessed in a private ceremony held with the two new tenants and their families, both Maui healthcare professionals who lost their homes and belongings in the devastating Lahaina fires last year. The families moved into their homes this month.

After being closed following the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfire, the Lahaina Aquatic Center reopened to dozens of swimmers Saturday, Oct. 11.

Elizabeth Pickett, the long-time co-executive director of the Hawai‘i Wildfire Management Organization (HWMO) was honored today at a ceremony in New York City, as one of the 2024 Grist 50. Grist bills itself as the only newsroom focused on finding solutions at the intersection of climate and justice.