#Upcountry

Hawaiʻi Gov. Josh Green said the options for the damaged Upcountry hospital could include a mobile unit designed for disasters or a temporary modular clinic like the one Kaiser built in Lahaina after the 2023 wildfires.

Eight of the nine residents at Kula Hospital’s Hale Makamae, a facility for developmentally disabled individuals, had to be moved off island.

With a recent Kona Low storm drenching Maui County, the Department of Water Supply lifted the Stage 1 water shortage for the Upcountry service area and the Stage 2 water shortage for the West Maui service area, effective Monday.

A group of citizen scientists and water quality experts are working to find out what’s causing recent changes offshore.

Update: Water service has been restored for an area of Pukalani after emergency repairs were completed, Maui County reported before 3:30 p.m. today. This morning, the Maui County Department of Water Supply announced the temporary water outage. Repairs began at 9:05 a.m. today and were expected to be ongoing for about six hours. Affected residents […]

A lagging economy will mean a tighter budget and tougher choices for lawmakers as the Legislature opens today.

Yuki Lei Sugimura, a five-term council member, said her decision was spurred by the recent passage of the bill to phase out thousands of vacation rentals, which she says will negatively impact the local economy.

Maui police said they arrested an individual this week in connection to multiple home break-ins but provided few details, including the name of the suspect.

Residents can do the kind of prep work firefighters would to make their homes defensible, and they can do it long before the threat of fire arrives.

More than 94% of Maui County is under some kind of drought as Hawai’i comes off the third-driest season in the last 30 years.

Neighbors remember Kula Lodge and Restaurant’s tasty breakfasts, the cozy lodge setting and the generosity they showed after the 2023 wildfires. Kula Lodge’s owners say the restaurant is a “complete loss.”

Hawaiian Electric’s efforts since the Aug. 8, 2023 wildfires on Maui are part of its $350 million, three-year Wildfire Safety Strategy that is projected to reduce fire risk by 68% to 72%.

The 88-unit temporary housing complex for fire survivors has taken 1 1/2 years longer to build that expected, and risen in cost from $14 to $20 million, but the need for it has not diminished.

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.

Removing black wattle is important to fire mitigation in Kula because the invasive species burns fast and it chokes out more fire-resistant native species.

Planning officials say some residents are waiting for the bill to pass in order to rebuild their properties.

The balance of power on the council could come into play on critical issues that include the mayor’s proposal to phase out thousands of short-term vacation rentals.

The Ah Hees are days away from their final inspection and plan to spend Thanksgiving surrounded by loved ones more than a year after they were displaced by the August 2023 fire.

Upcountry residents have relied for years on cesspools, which are required under state law to be eliminated by 2050.

“There’s very, very traditional ways to fight fire. And with the weather that we’re facing now, we have to sometimes think outside the box, how it’s going to impact communities faster,” Maui Fire Chief Brad Ventura said.