The 2023 Lahaina fires burned down over 2,000 buildings, including historical sites like the Pioneer Inn and Waiola Inn. However, 86% of the destroyed structures were residential. While 102 people lost their lives, thousands of families became displaced. Although a year has passed, the recovery and rebuilding goes slowly, leaving many residents homeless with dwindling funds and no end in sight.
The 2023 Lahaina wild fires
In August 2023, wildfires created damage and destruction through Hawaii, especially on the island of Maui. Lahaina, a town on Maui’s coast, suffered major damage when strong wind gusts snapped a power pole and caused a brush fire across the street from Lahain Intermediate School. The flames consumed hundreds of homes as residents tried to flee. They had little to no notice. This frenzied evacuation led to traffic jams, and many people had to jump into the ocean to escape as the flames reached the shore. Others managed to find cover that protected them until help arrived.
One year after the Lahaina fires
“We are making progress, and are further along than we had anticipated as we pass the one year mark,” said Maui Mayor Richard Bissen in a news release on August 9, 2024. “Drinking water was restored just one week ago, sewer infrastructure should be restored by the end of the year and we are starting to see homes going up. We have 50 permits issued, 111 in the queue and 16 houses are actively being built. Residential debris removal is almost complete and we are making great headway with commercial property clearances.”
A slow recovery
“...The recovery journey has been challenging, but through our collective efforts, we have made significant strides. Together, we are restoring not just homes, but also hope and community. Mahalo to everyone who has contributed to this recovery effort,” said Governor Josh Green, M.D. in the news release.
However, the strides are too short for many residents, many of whom still have no permanent home. Many Lahaina homeowners were herded into hotels, filing insurance claims, as they recovered from the disaster. However, their options grow fewer as they are faced with expiring financial assistance, rising rent prices, and insurance gaps. Unfortunately, some are starting to think there may be no home to go back to.
Survivors of the Lahaina fires
One of these survivors is Kukui Keahi, the community care lead for the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement’s Maui recovery program. “A couple of months ago, we all felt like we were finally at that ‘we can breathe’ phase,” she said to NBC News. “Now, I think we’re at this rocky area again.”
Mikey Burke, a Native Hawaiian and fourth-generation Lahainan, is one of many homeowners who suffered long after the initial devastation. Many had hoped their insurance companies would follow the example of other companies who had extended their loss of use (LOU) and additional living expense (ALE) benefits past 12 months after wildfires in other states. These policies are meant to cover rental costs when natural disasters make homes unlivable. But their companies did not.
More fees, less assistance
Meanwhile, homeowners must exhaust the LOU and ALE policies before applying for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) rental assistance. When Burke applied, she had to wait two months for approval. Even then, the amount was based on her mortgage, not on the exorbitant rental prices. Bear in mind, only about half of the wild fire survivors who applied for FEMA got approved.
All of this to say, Burke tried and failed to get further assistance, and even attempted to negotiage with her landlord. But she still has to pay $7,600 in rent and $3,100 for her mortgage. She, like many others, thought the wild fires would be the biggest distruptor to her living conditions. Then they faced fees like these.
Stay or go?
For the first time, Burke, like many others, considered leaving her hometown. And many have, according to a University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization survery that showed half of the survivors moving out of West Maui, and almost a tenth relocating to other American states or countries. Although a third say they plan on returning in a year, it’s debatable if they will.
“What happens is, you just have people holding on as long as they can, and then eventually they break,” said data researcher Matt Jachowski. “You hear, ‘Oh, if I move to Texas, if I move to Vegas, if I move to Washington, I’m going to get higher wages. I’m going to get better housing.’”
Rent or built?
Because of the slow recovery process, homeowners are stuck paying for rent as well as their mortgage and homeowners association fees. At the same time, they are facing costs for rebuilding, including materials, permits, contractors, etc. Burke and those in similar situations may have no choice but to use their rebuilding funds to pay for rent. “The longer we have to rent, the less money we have to build,” she said. “And if it goes on for long enough, homeowners might not be able to build at all. It’s almost having to choose between housing now and housing later.”
Will they return?
There’s no clear path but there have been some positive advancements. Burke helps lead the newly-created Lahaina Community Land Trust, with the goal of making an insurance gap program to assist with rebuilding-related costs while prioritizing Lahaina community members. The trust had aquired its first property from sellers who were not Hawaiin. However, the founders were met with a disheartening scene when they went to celebrate the sale: a local family having their last dinner in Lahaina. Circumstances had forced them to decide to move.
“That was crushing,” said Carolyn Auweloa, a co-founder. “It’s what we know is going to happen. But it’s one thing for people to have to leave for a little while. What’s scary is some of them are leaving and don’t really have a clear path to come back. They’ll be displaced and then replaced with who?”