Hawaii Governor Josh Green just announced what we had already been hearing in comments including those below from visitors. That is that one milestone in the Lahaina fire recovery, the closing of Red Cross temporary housing, has occurred.
There are 4,400 Maui fire survivors who have now been moved into West Maui hotels and other accommodations typically used for visitors. Of those some 900 are staying in Airbnb vacation rentals. The state said that “These accommodations will continue to provide meals, casework services, financial recovery resources and other disaster relief assistance.”
“We want to thank our partners at the American Red Cross, FEMA, the hotel industry and Airbnb, for stepping up during this unprecedented tragedy… I would also like to express my gratitude to the West Maui properties who are housing hundreds of their team members and their families. These hotels and timeshares have generously opened up their properties without hesitation. I especially want to thank the Royal Lahaina Resort for being the first hotel to step up to the plate and offer housing for those displaced from the wildfires”
Josh Green, Governor.
Evolving situation in West Maui.
The housing of fire victims in West Maui is progressing, which will continue to change Maui hotel and vacation rental availability for the next couple of months, if not longer. The information is still limited and changing as to which resorts and areas are included for housing of those displaced and for what duration. Clearly, however, the Kaanapali Resort area is a primary location where those impacted by the catastrophic Lahaina fire will be housed.
Dave just commented that: “I am an owner at Kaanapali Shores. We just received an email stating that Kaanapali Shores has entered into a contract with the Red Cross to house those that have lost homes and first responders through October 31, 2023. I see all Aston West Maui properties have closed out availability until Nov 1, 2023.”
Another comment said, “Yesterday I checked in with (Kaanapali Shores) again and was told that all reservations through September 30 had been cancelled because Kaanapali Shores was housing the displaced and volunteers. It was also noted that there is no internet or cable TV, and intermittent power outages. I never received cancellation notice and none of this is explained in their online updates, which make it sound like you can cancel ‘if you wish’ but that nothing has been auto-cancelled.”
Meanwhile, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency administrator said, “This team effort to help Maui’s kamaaina get out of group shelters and into stable and more private housing was executed with tremendous speed. We hope restoring some stability will help the community heal.”
Temporary solution to help residents who cannot return to their homes.
This will provide a temporary solution while long-term housing plans are developed in collaboration with the county and the West Maui community. These hotels and Airbnb properties were selected in West Maui in order to keep people close to their home communities and preserve as much as possible some degree of continuity in the survivors’ lives. We do not have a list of which properties are included at this time.
The American Red Cross is operating the housing agreement under a contract it has with the state. It is being funded through FEMA, whose Admin. Deanne Criswell said, “Because of the tremendous partnership between FEMA, Hawaii, and our nonprofit partners, thousands of residents have transitioned out of shelters and into hotels.”
FEMA said that it is coordinating housing without regard to eligibility during the first 30 days and will later conduct eligibility reviews. Thereafter, those survivors registered for FEMA help whose homes are deemed to be uninhabitable, can remain in a Maui hotel or vacation rental until they, together with FEMA help, are able to find their own housing.
Let us know if you have any questions on this evolving situation in West Maui.
Photo credit Royal Lahaina Resort, acknowledged by the state for stepping forward to help Lahaina fire victims.
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Thank you for the opportunity to express my sadness for all effected by this tragedy. My husband and I love visiting Maui. Is there any thing we can do to help in person? We don’t have a lot of money but we are compassionate and physically healthy and have time to give.
Major major kudos for getting those Maui shelters emptied and closed quickly.
More major kudos for the Honolulu convention center shelter. Immediate response, and wrap-around support (airport bus, services). HCC shelter wasn’t widely used, but was a brilliant response.
I certainly expected hoards of tourists to get off Maui ASAP. Evacuation to Oahu was sensible.
Better to be over prepared than overwhelmed.
There should be an award here, somewhere.
Aloha again BOH, I was trying to reply to you regarding the email from Hawaiian Air. I thought it was odd that if we don’t make a change by September 1 (less than a week away), for our October 9 reservation, we lose some of the options. It doesn’t seem like much time to make a decision that could end up costing a lot of money. We’re trying to figure out is we should go to West Maui and when. We don’t want to intrude, take resources from locals or put anyone in danger. I guess that’s the way airlines operate.
We’re now leaning toward going at the end of October or early November. We’ll lay low, as we always do, be kind and tip generously.
Thank you for your responses.
Much Aloha.
Hi Lani.
Thanks again. That sounds like a very good plan to wait until later in October.
Aloha.
We have reservations at the Westin South in late sept. We are also willing to serve at a local church which our church is supporting financially! I would hate for the Governor to set policies against those who are wanting to serve local businesses and employees from coming to support!!
Something I don’t understand.
We are hearing that South Maui needs tourism dollars to maintain it’s economy.
Yet, we also hear that tourism is unthinkable at this time.
What is the best way to support Maui?
We have visited Kihei 4 times, and want to help, (“voluntourism?”), but don’t want to be resented, (donations have been sent).
Don’t know what to do.
Maureen,
There are a lot of people on Maui quite concerned that tourists will avoid Maui. They will lose their ability to feed their families and make enough money to recover from this tragedy. They want to get back on their feet as quickly as they can. Any resort that has room for you will benefit from your business. Restaurants that are open could use your business, etc. etc. People need to work and feel productive for their financial and emotional well being. I can’t imagine anyone in Kihei resenting you being there, you mentioned voluntourism, I suspect that will be a growing component in tourism to Maui. Your heart is in the right place and Maui needs people like you.
Thank you, so much John.
And take care.
I’m not sure where to leave this comment. This is horrendous for the people who have lost friends/family/property in the fire. Everyone is searching to blame someone, eg., Hawaiian Electric. Infrastructure in HI is not the best; however, who planted invasive grasses that fed the fire? Who designed such tight housing and narrow streets? Everyone wants to blame someone, but this was a natural disaster. Only lawyers will benefit from lawsuits.
I beg to differ.
If a doctor is incompetent and botches a few surgeries, maims a few people, and gets away with it, because someone like you convinces the doctors patients not to sue, sure, the lawyers will not benefit.
I’ll give you that.
But nobody besides the bad doctor benefits.
To imply or suggest that victims of this terrible tragedy should not want or attempt to hold those rightfully responsible accountable for their incompetence or negligence is absurd.
Mine is a simple observation of past class action suits. Take it as you will.
Brian,
I think I’m more with Dot on this. But with a somewhat different take on responsibility.
I think before any lawsuits should be allowed to go forward, the plaintiffs should be required to present evidence to the judge. What evidence – that formal complaints have been made, in the past, and no action was taken if it’s likely that had the complaints been addressed the fire would not have spread as much.
In others, stop frivolous lawsuits early. Also, legitimate lawsuits to go forward.
On a related item – insurance. It’s one thing to have insufficient insurance, quite another to not have any insurance (fire in this case). Folks who own property but don’t insure it, should not be made whole by the taxpayer. Property owners have responsibilities. Ditto for life insurance.
Agreed by not to sound negative. But FEMA or The Gov Federal or Local will be expected to do something.
That is very confusing to me. I would think that most of those homeowner in Lahaina have a mortgage and lenders do require homeowner’s insurance (even condos have fire and hazard insurance) before lending money ….
Once again BOH leads the way with on-the-ground travel info. Maui Vacations Worldwide (lots of properties in West Maui including Ocean Villas) sent a letter to time-share holders stating, like many other resorts in this BOH report, they are currently housing displaced families (workers and refugees) with no timeline for reopening to tourism. The scope of the task at hand is monumental, and FEMA/Red Cross/State of Hawaii appear to be doing mostly the right things in mostly the right order. So what if we go by “models” of assistance? It’s better than making it up as we go – and there is a modicum of that surely happening because that is what is needed as well. Here’s a reality check: Three years ago a wildfire, much like Lahaina’s, ripped through the Oregon town of Detroit. 700 homes lost. At the same time another grass-fed wildfire blew through the town of Phoenix, Oregon taking another 2,500 homes. FEMA/Red Cross had trailers and motor homes within weeks for the thousands of displaced. The point I am making is that we can’t just expect trucks hauling manufactured homes to show up two-weeks post disaster to an island 2500 miles from the mainland. They will need to be shipped in. This will take a while. We should be praising and encouraging those who are helping in the now. PS. Those fire ravaged Oregon towns are still rebuilding but look better than ever – tourism is back. A glimpse of the future?
Maleko, great post in many ways….totally void of finger pointing and a great example of future potential. The more people that feel this way the better the recovery will go. I’m not giving the Maui Government a pass, there will be a lot to learn and I have my own ideas on their shortcomings. But simply put recovery and rebuilding is what’s important now and as always the conspiracy theories and finger pointers just hamper the process.
It has been barely two weeks since an unprecedented disaster.
You complain the housing situatation is disjointed and disorganized. What is your first-hand experience to support these broad claims?
It has been barely two weeks since August 8. How would you have stepped in personally to make the temporary housing situation for over 4000 individuals run more smoothly? Please provide specific details.
Today, Maui County annouced they are closing shelters since nearly all displaced persons have been transferred to temporary, better houseing. August 25. Less than 2 wks after the disaster.
Sir or Ma’am,
These are unprecedented times. This was an unprecedented disaster. To call Everyone “Fools” for mishandling preparation and response to the disaster is unkind. If you wish to criticize, then please provide some detail about what went wrong, and what you would have done better, if you were in a specific job, with specific disaster responsibilities, and specific training, to do the job better.
BOH: thank you for these updates on the locals. My heart is so sad for these individuals, and I am also full of gratitude to the West Maui properties who are housing hundreds of their team members and their families! I need to research FEMA, so I know that these individuals have housing, etc. for a satisfying time while their emotions are healing. It just breaks my heart. I have actually taken a part time job to help a GoFundMe couple. I read their stories and hear what many experience and it is just …….any way thanks for these updates as the news is not the 100 percent place to know what is Maui locally happening.
Fema should rent a cruise ship to house the displaced. This would allow the resorts to stay open and keep the jobs and tourist economy going.
You might think it is a good idea but it was tried before in Florida with Katrina refugees, remember? Cutting through red-tape a cruise ship was leased for 6-months to house displaced families. Sounded like a great plan. Trouble was, not enough people took them up on the offer to stay on board. Many opted for other housing instead – choosing to move in with family or other friends. The final cost of “cruise-line housing” came to $240,000 per family of five. For that money they could have built a house for the family back then. Having said that, every situation is different. Maui is much smaller – a cruise ship at Kahului would be very close to services that these families would need and could use. Question is, would the displaced move there to use it?
Several of our future daughter-in-law’s family have bookings at Honua Kai in West Maui. The condo owners have said that they will not return deposits and that they are able to come on October 7th. This seems to be in conflict with what was said by the Governor. Do they still come as they cannot afford to make other accommodations.
I think that’s terrible! We refunded all our upcoming guests, we felt it was the right thing to do. Our bank account isn’t happy, but we are grateful for what we have.
Thanks to BOH for allowing us to post.
My prayers are offered up for all Lahaina residents every night.
My first impression of this, of course, is “who’s paying for this?” I don’t mean the emergency quarters for the those displaced by fire destroying their homes. I’m asking what the heck “without regard to eligibility for the first 30 days is?!!!”
Are they even keeping track?
I sure hope we don’t re-elect the fools who totally mishandled the preparation for and response to this disaster!!!
I own a vacation rental in Napili. The housing situation has been disjointed and disorganized. Airbnb has not been helpful. They seem to be expecting individual owners to house people for free. I highly doubt that major players like Hyatt and Westin are doing that (even though they could easily absorb the cost). Owners of vacation rentals often have very high costs. If the government wants to use those units for longer term housing, it will have to pony up adequate funding.
My heart goes out to you resort owners. It is a difficult and hard situation for all concered. I do hope that we, (tourists), will not be gouged for rentals in the upcoming New Year. It already appears that it has gone up at least 1/3% higher. Govt<Fema<, should be filling that void. I had such hopes to come in 2023, saved for over 5 years, lost monies on the condo rental. I dont mind if it helps one, but then to try to return for the last hoorah in life, and finding the rates are so high and getting higher on South Side due to supply in demand, is very troublesome and we are ready to just throw in the towel.
It is not the government or FEMA’s (ie the American taxpayer) job to make sure tourists are not charged more than a tourist believes is appropriate. The market controls the price.
FEMA and the government’s role here is disaster recovery for people’s whose lives have been destroyed and have been left with nothing. A wildfire wiped out a town 20 miles north of my house in 2022 destroying 2000+ homes. Very few have yet to be rebuilt. It will take years to rebuild west Maui.
Back in July, I set up a 2 week trip for January 2024 on the Big Island. If I were to check I am sure the prices have risen since Maui’s tragic fire as tourists move their reservations to other Islands.
If a tourist cannot afford the increase in prices to visit Hawaii, then one should plan a vacation elsewhere. There are plenty of lovely places in the US and world to visit.
Pat,
Good post!
The price tourists (I’m one, coming to Waikiki in Sep) pay is a “silent” negotiation between tourists and providers. If the price is too high the tourists go elsewhere. If the pain from that is too much for the providers they will lower their prices.
If other tourists replace those who think the price is too high, then the providers will maintain those higher prices.
It’s the law of supply and demand. Given absolute minimum govt interference, that “law” provides the most efficient use of the available resources.
Have you been to Maui or other places than Waikiki in Hawaii? Locals don’t have the same mindset than tourists. Luckily, not everything is about money in Hawaii which is one of the reasons I am settling there.
Sounds like they are handling a difficult situation as well as can be expected.
Does anyone know the condition of the Outrigger Ainu Nalu and the Feast at Lele and the Old Lahaina Luau after the fire? Mahalo.
Sorry, all gone.
Carol. Our Maui source says that the Old Lahaina Luau & Star Noodle are ok. Just smoke damage. It will be a very long time until they can open because they are on Front Street. The Cannery Mall & Safeway protected them.
Is Marriott participating in this program?
In reply to my own comment…
I got a letter yesterday from Marriott (Marriott, Sheraton, Westin) that was a bit vague but sounds like they have opened their properties to provide housing.
Could you please let me know if kaanapolia Beach hotel will be available to stay there the end of January? Also are there still have any boats that will whale watch at that time frame. Thank you for any updates. Not sure if I should cancel. Be safe.
Hi Georgette.
Thanks for your questions. We’ll keep them in mind and have more updates as soon as possible.
Aloha.
Hi George, we have done a lot of whale watching in February so you should be fine.
Glad to know that the “aloha industry” has stepped up and intervened to [help] make up for the hapless, “who’s-on-first” gubment’s inefficiencies.
Last I checked (yesterday) there were Hundreds of vacancies for Maui AirBnB listings.
I’m wondering why the construction crews of Marines, Air Force, Navy and Army are not being flown in with building materials to start rebuilding homes, This to me seems like a no brainer,
Sorry, too much red tape. Most homeowners who wish to rebuild do not want “Army Housing” for their permanent home. The military does not provide this type of service, but your idea is noble.
Jane, asking about rebuilding at this point is way too early. The toxins from the fire, the dust, and the cleanup that needs to be coordinated first. You aren’t going to rebuild as is.
Thank you for the update. I’ve been scouring the news to find out what is really happening as far was housing for the people who have lost their homes, you’ve provided more info than I’ve seen. I feel so sorry about the tragedy, I cannot imagine how awful it is.
We have a West Maui condo in a small building that we vacation rent part of the year. We haven’t been quite sure what to do with with it to help people. I told our housekeeper and her family they could stay there, but they had already found a place. We thought it would be best if affected people were located together for access to services, which you’ve confirmed.
I don’t quite understand how Kaanapali Shores could enter a contract with the Red Cross, when there must be hundreds, if not thousands of individual owners in that complex. Do you have more info?
We have received two emails from Hawaiian Airlines, in two days, concerning existing reservations to fly. We do have reservations to fly October , which we intend to cancel. We found the emails confusing. One was a correction, but appeared to be exactly the same as the first. BOH, have you seen the email messages? Can you make sense of them?
Thank you again for all the information and your perspective on things.
Hi Lani.
Thank you. We have not heard of any change in Hawaiian’s fire-related policies this week. So if you have, please let us know. Also, we don’t have any more information about Kaanapali Shores agreement, other than was released to us by the state.
Aloha.
Thank you for the reply. Should I try to copy/paste the emails here or can you give me an email address to use?
Mahalo
Hi Lanell.
It’s fine to copy/paste. Thank you.
Aloha.
Hi again, I finally figured out what the correction was… the confirmation code.
Per the Tourism Authority (HTA), areas outside of West Maui (including Kahului, Wailuku, Kīhei, Wailea, Mākena, Pāʻia and Hāna) remain open. Please contact your hotel/lodging accommodations to confirm your arrangements.
As of August 19, 2023, the State of Hawai‘i has issued a revision to the emergency proclamation relating to the Maui wildfires. As stated, non-essential travel to West Maui is strongly discouraged through October 17, 2023. Due to the evolving situation, please continue to check for any updates prior to your departure.
If you are connecting through the Kahului, Maui Airport (OGG) on your way to your final destination, your travel plans can remain the same.
Should you wish to change your travel plans, a travel waiver is available to you. Please review them here, as some options require your action by September 1, 2023.
If you did not book directly with Hawaiian Airlines, please contact your original ticket issuer for change and refund requests. If you are not traveling within the next 72 hours, we ask that you refrain from calling our Reservations Department at 1-800-367-5320 until a later date so that we may service guests with immediate needs. Mahalo for your patience as we work through the volume of requests.
cont…
Hi Lani.
From reading all of the information you sent (we didn’t publish the rest of it), we didn’t note a change in the HA policy on waivers. Did you, or is there some other issue about that. Thanks for sending that!
Aloha.
Do you know if there has been any discussion as to whether the PGA will still hold their Sentry tournament during the first week of January? Thanks
Hi Joe.
It appears as though it is still happening, although we don’t have a definite confirmation.
Aloha.
This is great news. However, people who lost the homes will need housing for 2 or 3 years while rebuilding. Maybe longer because of a shortage of labor and building materials.
Look at the Tubbs Fire 2017 and how long it took to rebuild (Coffee Park neighborhood)
2 or 3 years??? It will take that long just to remove all of the highly contaminated debris.
Then there is the planning process. This takes years and years. Everything needs to meet current environmental and building standards. Many lots will be changed, utilities, everything. And since the housing situation was so absurd prior to the fire, the County can’t find any workers (Planners / Engineers / etc.) to do the existing work. The whole rebuilding process will easily be a decade or more. People have already been leaving Hawaii in droves.
Thank you for these updates! We have a reservation for November at an Aston property in West Maui and haven’t been able to get information on whether we need to cancel.
They probably don’t know yet and internet connection to West Maui has only been restored today (at least in our community at Kaanapali Hillside). I hope for you that you can come on November 1, since that is past the deadline given by the governor. I don’t think anyone has definite answers as to the future yet. It will take time. For now, they are concentrating on finding the 388 people that have been reported missing to see if any of them is alive, but could not communicate with their relatives and friends. We will all know more soon …they are doing a great job in Maui. Aloha!
What I want to know is why FEMA is putting their staff in the luxury resorts of Kaanapali. When they were asked as to why, all they said was No Comment.
where would you want them to live? So, it’s ok for tourists to stay in luxury resorts in areas where people have nothing, but not FEMA? Remember they are living “with the locals” in those hotels right now. Sill limited internet connection, no TV, no restaurants, no pools open…
I’d like to know this as well… No Comment isn’t good enough.
Hi Andy,
The reason this is happening is because this has all been planned a long time ago. And the government and the elites really believe they are better than us when in reality they can never come close to being as good as the citizens that are their employers.
It is time to tear down the whole system and start over.
Mahalo, Lana
Hi Andy, Good question! When I left Maui during fires I had to fly to Honolulu and had a 48 hour layover before I could fly back to the mainland. Gratefully, I had points to stay at the Sheraton Waikiki. I was at dinner at the hotel bar and two Red Cross Executives were also sat next to me having their dinner. Come to find out, they were put up at the Sheraton for several nights before going over to Maui! The Red Cross also flew in 200 Untrained volunteers from all over the country and paid for their flights and hotel stays. I asked why they didn’t recruit and train locals (who are doing most of the work anyway) and he said that is their “model.” One of the men said he was gathering intelligence from people to understand what people displaced by the fires needed first. I responded ” A deep understanding of the people
their roots and the sacred culture of the islands.” He had only done disaster relief for hurricanes in Florida but came for wildfire disaster relief experience on Maui.
I am a professional nonprofit fundraiser in San Francisco and my mind was blowing up thinking how angry I would be as a donor to hear all that I heard. Still in shock from that conversation. The Red Cross will never get another dime of my money. Give locally folks to causes you know well and can trust — not a national machine that blows in and out of your communities.
That is not good to hear, but I would have felt like you …there is no reason for them to stay 5 nights in Waikiki before helping people in Maui. I must say that the Red Cross has never been on my #1 list for donations. You are right, give to locals directly. Many have “fund me” pages, like my friend who has been a musician on Maui for 30 years entertaining tourists and locals. He lost his home and all his equipment, but he said people already donated guitars. I told him that people will need music more than ever. Music heals
It was well explained on Hawaii News Now this morning that those Hotels offered the rooms for the government rate of 345 a night. Not the 1000 dollars certain news outlets are saying to fuel rage in their viewers. In the big picture it saves rooms for the fire victims as they are being found longer term places to stay. The primary concern for where they stay is that they don’t interfere with the big picture of finding suitable longer term places for the victims. Personally I have nothing but respect and appreciation for the work they do and I hope they are getting the support they need to do the crucial service they are providing.
Thank you so much for this article. This confirms what friends and neighbors I left only 2 weeks ago said. Finally, it’s pretty clear that hotels and resorts are not open for tourists. I am happy to hear they are doing the right thing, housing people who have lost everything. Let’s see what’s next.
Could you possibly list what Hotels and or Resorts the victims, families and even FEMA having been thankfully and graciously accepted into?
Hi
When are those poor people going to get power, internet etc.? We are having a hard time reaching our family as they still have no internet or phone towers?
Thank you
I assume one or more govt agencies are, rightfully, picking up the tab for the lodging. If there is insurance coverage, they would then seek reimbursement.
Unless FEMA brings in trailers for the displaced people of Maui, it’s hard to imagine these folks will be ready to move in less than 6 months.