Hawaii

National

Maui wildfire survivors will get an additional year of housing help from FEMA

2:09am October 16, 2024

Survivors of last year's deadly wildfire that decimated a historic Maui town will receive an additional year of housing assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

National

Report: ‘No evidence’ Hawaii officials prepared for deadly wildfire, despite warnings

2:30am September 14, 2024

Despite days of warnings that critical fire weather was coming, the report found “no evidence” of Hawaii officials making preparations for the August 2023 wildfire that killed 102 people.

Search and rescue team members work in a residential area devastated by a wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii, on Aug. 18, 2023.

National

A new report on the Maui wildfires cites communications breakdowns

6:03pm April 17, 2024

by The Associated Press

As wildfires ripped across Maui last August, a broad communications breakdown left authorities in the dark and residents without emergency alerts, according to a report released Wednesday.

Maui Mayor Richard Bissen speaks at a community meeting at the Lahaina Civic Center. A complex cleanup is underway seven months after the wildfire, intended to protect historic buildings and artifacts.

Native Hawaiians aim to bring cultural sensitivity to Maui wildfire cleanup

5:12am March 20, 2024

A delicate cleanup is underway in historic Lahaina on Maui. Cultural monitors are working closely with federal officials to assure the process protects cultural and archeological artifacts.

Chef Jojo Vasquez in the open kitchen of FOND – a Neighborhood Eatery, in west Maui.

National

A Maui chef's lifeline: his restaurant as the island recovers from Lahaina wildfires

5:14pm March 18, 2024

Thousands remain displaced after last year's deadly wildfire on west Maui. Among those who lost almost everything was a chef and his family. But they're determined to keep their restaurant running.

The gate to a large property in Waimea. Median home prices in the area are up 87% from pre-pandemic prices.

National

A tech billionaire is quietly buying up land in Hawaii. No one knows why

9:37am February 28, 2024

by Dara Kerr

A mystery has been brewing in a small ranching town on Hawaii's Big Island. Word has it that Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff bought the land, stirring worries about what he plans to do with it.

Arica Lynn Souza and her children Ayla, 3, left, and Silas, 4, on the porch of the family home where they are staying temporarily after losing their Lahaina townhome in the wildfires.

National

Maui fire survivors struggle to find long-term housing, half a year after the blazes

5:29pm February 19, 2024

Thousands of people are still displaced and living in limbo six months after the wildfires on Maui. The disaster has deepened a housing crisis and is taking a toll on fire survivors.

People surf off of Launiupoko Beach Park near Lahaina, Hawaii, in October. A surfer died after encountering a shark on Maui on Saturday.

World News

A 39-year-old surfer has died in Hawaii after being injured in a 'shark encounter'

9:00pm January 01, 2024

by Joe Hernandez

Maui police identified the victim as Jason Carter of Haiku, who succumbed to his injuries at a hospital after being rescued by lifeguards.

Shelly Romo spent hours in the rubble to find her wedding ring in the aftermath of the Maui wildfires back in August. After retrieving it and getting it restored, Romo said she never takes her ring off.

Maui wildfires ruined personal treasures. A local jeweler is repairing items for free

12:41pm December 30, 2023

by Juliana Kim

The August wildfires on the Hawaiian island erased troves of irreplaceable items — photographs, urns and mementos. One local jewelry store has been trying to help recover what the fires destroyed.

Properties destroyed by wildfire sit behind signs advertising for a nearby Safeway that survived the fire, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii.

National

Heart of Hawaii's historic Lahaina reopens to residents and business owners

1:53am December 12, 2023

by The Associated Press

The historic town, on the Hawaiian island of Maui that burned in a deadly wildfire that killed at least 100 people, reopened Monday to residents and business owners holding day passes.