First permit to build in Lahaina brings hope for the future

HONOLULU (KHON2) — The first permit to rebuild in Lahaina is issued to a couple, marking an emotional milestone for wildfire survivors who lost everything. City officials said its  a vital step in the right direction, giving everyone hope.

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“It’s coming true, so here it is,” Rich Alelxander said holding the permit to rebuild his Lahaina home in his hand.

It was an emotional moment. Alexander’s wife, Kari, wipeed away happy tears when her husband was handed the document.

Like thousands of others, the Alexanders lost everything in the August 8th wildfires, but they said they never gave up hope.

“We knew right after the fire that we wanted to rebuild,” Kari said. “My kids are coming home from their first day of college at the end of the month and my kids ask every time I talk to them, ‘Is anything changed? What’s going on?’ So, today, we’ll be able to tell them that we have our house permits to start building.”


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It’s a significant milestone, not only for the Alexanders, but all of Maui according to Maui County Council member Yukilei Sugimura.

“What this represents is helping to bring back stability into our community that got shattered on August 8,” Sugimura explained. “So these steps forward are just so welcome.”

“Just knowing that it is possible, I hope that that brings that sense of hope and perseverance to a lot of our families,” Maui County Council Member for West Maui Tamara Paltin said.

Paltin said there are at least 40 other applications going through the review process.

“While it’s by no means like, lightning speed, it just shows that we are moving forward,” she explained. “So really, really happy that we hit this milestone.”

According to Paltin, roughly 20% of the people impacted by the fire were home owners, while the majority were renters. She said the county council is also working to ensure there are rental options.

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“With this fiscal year ’25 budget, our council has allocated 100% of the affordable housing funds to housing opportunities in West Maui heavily on the rental, permanent rental options because about 80% of our people were renters,” Paltin said.