LAHAINA, Hawaii (KHON2) — Aug. 8 marks two years since the deadly Maui wildfires that claimed 102 lives and displaced thousands, and it’s still a very long road to recovery.
Front Street’s commercial district still has a long way to go, but some Kula and Lāhainā residents are already back in their homes, with hundreds more one step closer to their homecoming.
Residents like Gene Milne are optimistic for the future, as his Lāhainā home that was once reduced to a frame is now on track to completion — with an added bonus.
His home is now 80% complete, and his wife’s dream pool has now come into reality.
“I think I’m ahead of my anticipation. Things have just fallen into line for us and whenever I have downtime I can work on something else,” Milne said. “I really wasn’t staying stagnant sometimes when you have a contractor, they just grind to a halt until the next thing gets done, so it’s worked out really well and I’m pretty sure we’re going to be back in here by Christmas.”
Despite the anticipation of being able to return home once again, Milne says some families are starting to face delays in their reconstruction, and he worries that building expenses may rise due to tariffs.
“We started placing orders for all of our stuff, cabinets and fixtures and vanities, appliances, to try and avoid that because as we know, things are going to get more expensive,” Milne said. “As we said, insurance, money isn’t going up.”
Even though some setbacks are in place, Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen says that more than 50 homes in the affected areas have been completed.
“We have so many more, 460-plus, that have already been approved as well. Among those, I want to say 280 are in various stages of completion. Some just starting, some getting ready to end. I expect that number 51 to go up higher,” Bissen said.
In addition to building developments moving along, the debris removal from Olowalu to Kahului is more than halfway done.
Water and sewer are also back online for residential neighborhoods, which has also been done ahead of schedule, but it will take time for the commercial areas to rebuild.
“I think most people will tell you they want it to be the way it was before. I think that’s a pretty common response. There are some challenges to some of the properties,” Bissen said. “There are challenges to the building codes, the national historic district, the state historic district, and then being on the shoreline there are all of these different categories that if people fall within, it brings more challenges.”
The county is exploring various pathways so the commercial areas can continue their redevelopment without having to “jump through lots of hoops,” Bissen added.