To wipe the slate clean. The expression is both literal and figurative in Lahaina, a small Hawaiian town that burned furiously exactly one year ago. Bulldozers have razed the charred houses, now replaced with neat gravel. And the victims are preparing to start over on a new footing, with regulatory reform that will slow the pace of tourism a little.
Between the empty residential lots, banana trees and bougainvillea bloom. Scarred areas of the community of 13,000 people (before the fires) remain mostly cordoned off. Roadblocks are being lifted as water and sewer lines become operational again. Very few rebuilding permits have been applied for so far. The blight is barely subsiding.
“On August 8, 2023, I was home with the kids. We live in Honokowai, about 6 miles from Lāhainā. Around 6 p.m., I heard there was a fire there. I ran over to help people fleeing, and they were telling me, ‘Lāhainā is gone.’ I couldn’t believe it,” said Jordan Ruidas, an organizer with the advocacy group Lahaina Strong. She has been helping people for the past 12 months.
The fire, the deadliest in the United States in a century, claimed 102 lives. And 3,312 buildings — mostly small homes — burned. More than 8,000 people lost their homes. For months, thousands of them sought shelter in hotels, thanks to a federally funded program administered by the Red Cross. The last beneficiaries of the program just left their hotel rooms last month.
The vast majority of the victims now have real homes. Most have found shelter elsewhere on Maui, but far from Lahaina, a 45-minute drive or more away. It is also estimated that more than 1,000 families have left the island, or even Hawaii, because of the exorbitant housing prices. The median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the county is close to $2,500 a month. Assistance programs exist, but they won’t last forever.
Rebuilding the burned heart of Lāhainā will take years. To reintegrate the victims more quickly, affordable modular homes are being built near the town. But those few hundred units won’t be enough. Fortunately, another source of housing is set to become available soon on Maui: Half of the Airbnb-style condos will have their permits expired by January 2026 under a new regulation.
The idea came from Lahaina Strong. Last November, the group set up a protest camp on the hyper-touristy Kā’anapali Beach, just north of the burned town, to push for this solution. On Maui, more than 7,000 condo units have been granted a vested right to practice short-term rentals since 2001, even outside the authorized zones. The activists demanded the immediate revocation of this privilege.
At the beginning of the occupation of Kā’anapali, the mayor of Maui and the governor of Hawaii were rather cold to this idea. It must be said that such a drain on tourist accommodation will take oxygen away from this vital industry. But, after much reflection, the elected officials finally proposed, in May 2024, to put an end to the acquired rights regime. A victory for Lahaina Strong, who was dismantling her tents. “Honestly, it’s incredible,” rejoices Mme Ruidas.
A settlement of 4 billion
Carolyn Auweloa, a woman from Lahaina, is worried that the town’s historic and popular core will be taken over by real estate speculators. Many small homeowners will not be able to afford to rebuild their burned homes. Mme Auweloa is therefore actively involved in a community land trust (Lahaina Community Land Trust) which offers to buy back land from impoverished residents.
“Our model is to protect these lands in perpetuity from speculation, and to offer housing and commercial spaces to local people, at affordable prices,” she explains. For the moment, very few lots plowed by the fire have been the subject of a real estate transaction, but notices of sale are starting to appear. The land trust, funded by donations and state subsidies, is also preparing to conclude its first acquisition.
As for fire prevention, the necessary changes are proceeding at a snail’s pace. Lāhainā is located in an arid region, which climate change will only dry out further. To prevent fires, the agricultural wastelands overlooking the city will have to be better controlled. A year after the disaster, the same invasive, yellow, flammable weeds still reign there.
“These foreign grasses are naturalized in Hawaii. We can’t get rid of them completely. However, grazing animals, such as cows, can reduce the amount of fuel,” says Mr.me Auweloa, who is also involved as an agricultural specialist on a Maui economic recovery committee. One landowner in Lāhainā talks about integrating livestock onto his wildlands, but others are silent.
Legally, no organization has yet been officially held responsible for the Lāhainā fire. The findings of an investigation by a federal office affiliated with the Justice Department are yet to be made public. But already, as of Friday, seven parties — including Hawaiian Electric, the state of Hawaii, Maui County and Kamehameha Schools (a major landowner) — have offered $4 billion in compensation to victims.