Aloha,

A year ago today, devastating wildfires swept through West Maui and other areas — burning the town of Lahaina, claiming the lives of 102 of our beloved family, friends, and neighbors, and leaving thousands more homeless.

This was an unprecedented tragedy for Maui and our entire state.

The year since the day of the disaster has been one of immense challenges, and also a year of incredible resilience and hope.

Today I want to honor the memory of those we lost on August 8th, and also to share the remarkable progress we’ve made together in this journey of recovery and healing.

Words cannot adequately describe the devastation caused by the wildfires.

That day nearly 12,000 people were displaced and over 3,000 properties were destroyed, at an estimated cost of nearly $6 billion.

But far more devastating than any material loss was the loss of precious lives — of mothers, fathers, grandparents, sons, and daughters — lives that can never be replaced.

Today we remember and honor every one of the beloved family members we lost.

A year ago, the response to the disaster from every corner of Hawaii was immediate and overwhelming.

State agencies, including the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency and the Departments of Education, Health, and Human Services, began working with Maui county, FEMA, and the Red Cross — providing meals, temporary housing, and new schools, as well as support services for disaster relief, financial recovery, medical, and mental healthcare.

The American Red Cross, FEMA, the mayor’s team and hundreds of volunteers relocated thousands of displaced families to dozens of hotels and hundreds of short term rentals on Maui — housing over 8,000 people in more than 2,400 units across some 40 properties in just 14 days, and providing more than 1.1 million meals to those who lost everything.

In the days and weeks after the disaster, FEMA registered over 17,000 survivors for services, providing them with more than 18 months of rental assistance to ensure that they are housed well into 2025.

In addition to $250 million for hotels and rental assistance to individuals, FEMA leased approximately 1,500 units to house survivors and with the help of the county and state, and is designing multiple group sites to house up to 500 households in Accessory Dwelling Units.

In January we announced the Maui Interim Housing Plan, a $500 million initiative to create a pool of more than 3,000 housing units to house displaced families.

Our intention is to make sure we provide housing for anyone who needs it, rent free for the first two years where we can.

This effort brought together the state of Hawaii, Maui county, FEMA, the Hawaii Community Foundation, CNHA, and the American Red Cross, with the goal of moving all displaced families from short-term hotels into long-term housing by July 1.

Though it has been a difficult process, and many families had to move several times before finding permanent housing, we have now moved more than 99% of those displaced into long-term housing — and we will keep working to make sure every survivor has a safe and stable place to call home.

This year we have built or begun a total of 810 new units of permanent housing across four projects:

• Kaiaulu O Kukuia in Lahaina, 25 two-story, eight-plex buildings with 200 units of affordable workforce housing including 100 two-bedroom, 75 three-bedroom and 25 four-bedroom units


• Hale O Pi’ikea, 90 affordable housing units in Kihei


• Kaulana Mahina Apartments in Wailuku, 324 affordable and market-rate rental apartments on 14.4 acres


• Hokuʻula in Makawao, a development of 196 total lots which are evenly split between workforce housing and market rate housing

But there is still much more to do.

We have begun to construct 1,044 units of transitional housing to meet the community’s needs until we can fully rebuild Lahaina the way its people want it.

Education is our most important investment in our keiki’s future, and returning displaced students to the classroom has been a top priority.

In March, we opened a new temporary school in Pulelehua, Maui for Lahaina students displaced by the fires — a site with 30 air-conditioned, fully furnished modular classrooms about 7 miles north of the original campus.

Access to healthcare has become more critical than ever, so we came together as a community to build a new clinic to make sure everyone in West Maui can get the care they need.

The new 5,200-square-foot clinic was built on the Hyatt Regency property in less than nine weeks and opened to patients on March 28 of this year.

Over the past year, we have faced unimaginable challenges, but we have emerged stronger, united, and determined to build a brighter future for our children.

We came together to support each other, share our resources, and work together towards a common goal.

Today we remember and honor the loved ones we lost.

We thank those who have served and sacrificed for others.

And we look forward — with hope, faith, and determination — to the future we are creating together.

Thank you for standing with us, and for your support over the past year.

Mahalo,

Governor Josh Green