#Rebuild Lahaina

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa will debut Lele Wale, a new hana keaka (Hawaiian theatre work) that takes audiences on a journey of community rebuilding in the wake of the Lahaina wildfires. The production honors those who were lost, those who survived, and those who still carry the weight of rebuilding on Maui. Performances run March 4–8 in the Earle Ernst Lab Theatre at Kennedy Theatre.

Hua Momona Foundation is taking the annual Maui Music and Food Experience fundraiser to the mainland on Nov. 7 at the Copernicus Center’s Gateway Theater in Chicago.

The County of Maui Office of Recovery will host an open house on Lahaina town commercial area design plans on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, from 3 to 7 p.m. at Lahaina Cannery Mall, near the entrance to Longs Drugs.

Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen delivered his third State of the County Address at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center’s Castle Theater on Friday, expressing renewed hope for residents and progress made in the year and half after the 2023 Maui wildfires.

Mayor Richard Bissen announced the selection of John Smith, a leader with the County of Maui’s Department of Public Works, to serve as the new administrator of the County’s Office of Recovery. County officials say Smith has been instrumental in leading infrastructure restoration efforts following the recent wildfires. In his new capacity, he will now oversee the County’s comprehensive recovery efforts.

Maui nonprofits, Hawaiʻi Community Lending and Lahaina Community Land Trust, joined with the Hawaiʻi Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs’ Division Financial Institutions to announce a partnership to help Lahaina owner-occupant homeowners prevent foreclosure and support rebuilding efforts.

The County of Maui Department of Environmental Management’s (DEM) Wastewater Reclamation Division today announced its amendments to the sewer service status in Lahaina’s fire-affected areas.

The bank’s employees from the former Lahaina Branch on Papalaua Street that was lost in the fire will be staffing the new location. FHB will be submitting applications for permits to begin construction at the Lahaina Cannery location and hopes to expedite the development of the new location.

The University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization launched a publicly available, interactive housing data dashboard on Sept. 26, that allows users to customize their data reports based on location, with information such as property and rental market, demographics, zoning and housing stock. UHERO designed the dashboard to inform discussions on the way forward for housing in Hawaiʻi.

The report shows Maui lost more than $13 million of visitor spending each day in the weeks following the fire. With the planned Oct. 8 reopening of unaffected West Maui resort areas, economists are not anticipating a rush to travel, but a gradual recovery instead.

FEMA and the US Small Business Administration have approved more than $89.25 million in federal assistance to survivors of the Maui wildfires that began Aug. 8. The last day to register for Red Cross sheltering assistance is Friday, Sept. 15. The deadline to apply for FEMA assistance and a low-interest disaster loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration is Tuesday, Oct. 10. Residents who lost their job as a direct result of the Maui wildfires and live or work in Maui County have until Monday, Sept. 25, to apply for Disaster Unemployment Assistance.

As Maui residents prepare to repair, rebuild and retrofit their homes after the Aug. 8 wildfires, FEMA has teamed up with the Home Depot in Kahului to provide free information and tips on how to make homes stronger and safer.

Congressional leaders are focusing on supplemental appropriations needed to help rebuild Lahaina Town, according to US Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaiʻi) who is visiting Maui for assessments in the wake of the Aug. 8 wildfire disaster.

Down The Hatch in Lāhainā has organized a free rock-paper-scissors tournament, and raffle on Sept. 15, with all proceeds for those affected by August 24 fires.