Maui Wildfire Update – September 5 as of 12 p.m.
Aloha,
Here are the latest Maui wildfire news, updates, and resources you need to know.
The state’s unemployment modernization project is behind schedule as unemployment claims skyrocket following the Maui fires.
- The University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization (UHERO) closely monitors and makes available key economic data on its website. If you missed it, UHERO released a report exploring appropriate frameworks for assessing the devastating impacts of the Maui wildfires, their ongoing effects, and the challenges that will need to be faced to achieve a full recovery.
- Amid the spike in unemployment claims, the state’s Department of Labor and Industrial Relations said it is only at the stage of asking for proposals from vendors to take on the roughly $87 million Hawai‘i Unemployment Insurance Modernization project.
Officials confirmed the Lahaina fire is now 100% contained.
- The Maui Fire Department advised the Olinda fire is 90% contained, and the Kula fire is 95% contained.
- As of Saturday, the Environmental Protection Agency had completed work on 197 parcels of the disaster area. Residents will be allowed to return only after the area is deemed safe.
- Although Governor Green predicted the list of unaccounted people would drop, it remained about the same.
The effectiveness of sirens and emergency alerts is in review.
- Hawai‘i’s siren system is meant to warn the public about danger from a range of threats, but questions about the system’s effectiveness have been raised.
- Many residents said they never got an alert. Others said they did. Emergency management officials have yet to respond about how the Maui wireless alerts were handled ahead of the fires.
- Maui County’s failure to sound sirens to warn residents was blamed in the first lawsuit targeting the county and state governments over the emergency response effort following the deadly fire was filed on Monday.
Residents wonder about the wildfire risk in their neighborhood and the appropriate steps to take during an emergency.
- Residents are wary about the wildfire risks in their respective communities. Invasive grasses are believed to have contributed to the deadly wildfires.
- Maui County pursued a federal grant to help prevent wildfires in West Maui in 2021 but eventually abandoned the effort after FEMA raised concerns.
- Honolulu officials are now evaluating their own preparedness for wildfires as more extreme weather events heighten the risks.
Maui residents continue to emphasize the importance of a community-driven approach to recovery.
- Tiare Lawrence, a Maui-based activist and organizer of Native Hawaiian descent whose family has deep roots in Lahaina, is responsible for distributing $2.6 million raised via an Instagram fundraiser.
- The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement has opened its disaster relief center on Maui to aid fire survivors who prefer help from other Hawaiians or are suspicious of government programs.
Mahalo nui loa,
Your BG Team