HONOLULU (KHON2) — As Hawaii approaches the two-year mark since the devastating Aug. 8, 2023, wildfires that ravaged Lahaina and parts of Kula, homes are beginning to take shape in the rebuilding process.
As of Monday, the county reports that 275 homes are under construction. Nearly a third of the 1,500 structures in need of rebuilding have permits issued, with 42 of them completed.
“Much credit to Mayor Bissen,” Gov. Josh Green said. “Remember, there were 561 houses that were homeowner occupied, and then there were about 1,800 individuals who were renting. So he’s doing a good job focusing on those that have been there for a lifetime, for generations. And what in many people’s minds might be a slow process is about 10 times faster than what they’ve done on the Mainland when they’ve had a fire. So they’re rebuilding.”
The federal government recently released $1.6 billion in federal funds to the county for the rebuilding process. There is also the $4 billion from the global settlement that goes towards fire survivors.
“Those are hundreds of thousands of dollars to help people rebuild homes,” Gov. Green added.
This comes as the county is working towards fire mitigation efforts in Ukumehame along Honoapiilani Highway, where crews will be clearing 42 acres of brush, removing flammable fuels, as well as over a 100 abandoned vehicles, car batteries and other wildfire hazards.
It’s in an area officials say has seen 12 fires in the last two years. The county said the project could take up to seventy-five days to complete. Gov. Green is also touting the work of recently hired state fire marshal Dori Booth.
“First, let me remind everybody that 99% of fires are fires that we accidentally make, whether someone throws a cigarette out and it’s very dry because climate change has been real and it’s drier out there,” he said. “We have droughts on the west sides of all the islands, so be very careful. But mitigation is going forward, as you just reported that they’re doing a huge amount of brush clearing. That’s a fire hazard because that’s the fuel for big fires. So that’s coming, well. Also, we passed the climate impact fee, which means a third of those dollars going forward sustainability are gonna go forward to fight wildfires and do kind of climate mitigation risks. It’s gonna give us a lot of capacity that we never had before.”
As residents look to rebuild in Lahaina, some groups are pushing for recent county legislation that would phase out thousands of vacation rentals to hopefully provide much-needed housing for residents. Bill 9 passed in a 6-3 vote, the council’s Housing and Land Use Committee last Thursday.
“In principle, I support it because what’s most important, affordability, keeping our local families here, making sure that we can develop our generation over generation lives in the islands. It was becoming impossible for people to stay in Hawaii, to have their kids stay here. So I understand people worry about housing values and prices,” Gov. Green said. “But also remember that 52% of all short-term rentals are owned by people on the Mainland, not by our own local guys. So it’s important we return housing to the inventory, and I give credit to the council and the mayor for working through this. Even if they compromise at the end, this is one of the major housing solutions we need because you can’t just build high rises everywhere. You’re gonna have to put some of those short-term rentals back into the rental pool.”
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The bill targets TVRs in areas zoned for apartments. But there’s no clear procedure right now for possible rezoning opportunities. The proposal calls for the phase-out by July 2028. Bill 9 will now go to the full council for a vote.