Fears are rife in Hawai’i of predatory land buying after the recent wildfires have left many locals homeless and in dire financial straits.

The wildfires incinerated the town of Lāhainā, destroying 2200 homes and businesses and leaving hundreds unaccounted for. At least 114 people are confirmed dead.

The disaster has shed light on Hawai’i’s housing crisis which has prompted many to leave the state for the US mainland.

According to Hawai’i’s Senate Housing Committee, an average of 14,000 Hawai’ians leave the state every year. The state also has one of the highest homeless rates in the country — in 2022, close to 6000 people experienced homelessness.

Hawai’i — a state notorious for high mortgage rates and rent — was already in a housing crisis before the disaster occurred. In fact, it was only last month that Hawai’i’s Governor Josh Green declared a housing emergency — announcing plans to build 50,000 homes before 2025.

“Homeowners have been reached out to by developers and realtors offering to buy their land…and this is disgusting and we just want to let people around the world to know that Lahaina is not for sale,” Maui community leader Tiare Lawrence told US media.

Lawrence accused out-of-state developers of taking advantage of the disaster, by buying up multi-generational lands from residents forced into financial desperation by the wildfires.

Lāhainā evacuee John Crewe told RNZ Pacific local inter-generational property owners were already struggling to keep up with costs before the wildfires destroyed their homes.

“People feel that they will be forced to sell out because they’re desperate, and then that will mean there is no place for them to return to,” said Crewe.

“Certain people may try to take advantage of the disaster to gain more real estate because it’s a vacation destination, people like to buy properties for vacation and that drives up the cost of everything.

“This is something that should have been addressed long ago.”

In response to the public concerns, Hawai’i’s Governor Josh Green announced he had organised attorneys to assist local landowners.

“I’ve asked my attorney to watch out for predatory practices,” Green said last week.

“We’ll also be raising incredible amount of resources to protect us financially so that none of that land falls into anyone else’s hands,” he added.

The governor even suggested the state government would look to acquire the land in devastated parts of Maui.

That comment caused a social media backlash from critics who accuse the administration of protecting the interests of lucrative hotels and tourism developers — blamed by many for making the Hawai’i’s property markets so expensive.

“Some people have taken out of context a comment I made about purchasing land — that is to protect it, to protect if for local people so that it is not stolen by people on the mainland,” said Green.

“This is not about the government getting land, this is the people’s land and the people will decide what to do with Lāhainā.”

But many remain doubtful. In the days following the disaster, thousands of Lāhainā evacuees were forced to live in gymnasiums, churches, community shelters and their cars while Maui’s many hotels and resorts remained open to tourists.

Governor Green did announce that he had arranged with hotels for more than 500 rooms to be made available for evacuees to use.

Lāhainā evacuee and Native Hawai’ian Kanani Higbee told RNZ Pacific she had no choice but to leave Hawai’i for another state where the costs of living were cheaper.

John Crewe said he prayed the community which had existed for generations in Hawaii’s historical city would remain intact.

“People might have the tendency to leave the island and go somewhere else. We should build it so that people will come back and make Lāhainā a vibrant society and not just a tourist destination,” he said.

According to Hawai’i’s Senate Housing Committee, one resident emigrates from Hawai’i every 36 minutes.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The board chair of the Office of Hawai’ian Affairs says the Maui wildfires were caused in part by climate change and colonisation.

Carmen Lindsey said as kānaka (Native Hawai’ians), no words could describe the devastation of the losses in Lāhainā, the former capital of the Hawai’ian Kingdom, on the island of Maui.

“The fires of today are in part due to the climate crisis, a history of colonialism in our islands, and the loss of our right to steward our ʻāina and wai,” she said.

“Today we have watched our precious cultural assets, our physical connection to our ancestors, our places of remembering — all go up in smoke.

“The same Western forces that tried to erase us as a people now threaten our survival with their destructive practices.”

She said the Office of Hawai’ian Affairs was ready to help with community needs.

The Wiwoʻole #MauiStrong benefit concert on Saturday will raise essential disaster relief funds to support and sustain the victims of the wildfires.

‘Born out of activism’
The Office of Hawai’ian Affairs is a semi-autonomous state agency responsible for improving the wellbeing of native Hawai’ians, for example by annually providing Native Hawai’ian students $500,000 in scholarship money.

It says it was “born out of activism in the 1970s to right past wrongs suffered by Native Hawai’ians for over 100 years”.

According to the 2019 US Census Bureau estimate, about 355,000 Native Hawai’ians or Pacific Islanders reside in Hawai’i, out of a total population of about 1.4 million.

At least 110 people are confirmed dead, while many others remain missing.

But Hawai’i Governor Josh Green told CNN the number of residents still unaccounted for was “probably still over 1000”.

Help from American Samoa
Six members of the American Samoa National Park Service Fire crew are mobilising to respond to the fires.

In partnership with Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, the National Park of American Samoa trains staff and local villagers in the skills required to fight fires at home and within other areas of the United States.

The fire crew is made up of National Park Service employees, and employees of the American Samoa government and local businesses.

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As recovery and humanitarian efforts ramp up in Hawai’i’s Maui to help evacuees from the town of Lāhainā, there is frustration among many about the response and the failure of emergency sirens to sound off during the disaster.

The most recent update for Hawai’i’s Governor’s Office has the death toll at 110.

“The sirens never went off which is why a lot of people died because if people had heard the sirens, they would of course have run,” said Allin Dudoit, an assistant for the New Life Church in Kahului, which has been assisting survivors with basic supplies, accommodation and counselling.

“When they saw the smoke outside, they didn’t think they were in danger because they didn’t hear the sirens,” he added.

“I had a nephew who made it out alive with his sisters, they got burnt a little but they made it out.”

Dudoit told RNZ Pacific that many survivors were still in their homes when the fires struck and that fallen telephone poles prevented cars from getting out.

“People have been telling me they only had seconds to get away, that they didn’t even have time to run down the hallway to grab a family member — that’s how bad it was.

Telephone pole gridlock
“So many telephone posts were down that it caused a gridlock . . . they thought they were getting away, but the fires just came in and swept through the traffic.

“My wife’s uncle didn’t make it, he was in a truck.”

More than 1000 responders — mostly from the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) — are in Maui assisting survivors and recovering bodies from Lāhainā.

In the wake of the disaster, Hawai’i’s Governor Josh Green had announced aid, including employment insurance, financial support and housing.

“We have over 500 hotel rooms already up and going,” said Green.

“If you’re displaced from your job, you need to talk to the Department of Labour . . . please do that so you can get benefits and resources right away.

“We have an AirB&B programme that will have a thousand available rooms for people to go to.

Stable housing
“We want everyone to be able to leave the shelters and go into stable housing which is going to take a long time.”

A housing crisis already exists in Hawai’i. Just last month, Green issued an emergency proclamation to expedite the construction of 50,000 new housing units by 2025.

Lāhainā evacuee and single mother Kanani Higbee — now unemployed and homeless as a result of the disaster — told RNZ Pacific she is already considering leaving the state.

“It’s looking like this Native Hawai’ian and her kids will have to move to another state that has jobs and affordable housing because there isn’t enough help on Maui for us,” she said.

“Tourists are going to want to come back to visit and vacation condominiums will not want to house locals (evacuees) anymore, because the owners have high mortgages to pay,” she said.

“My work at the grocery store said they may place me to work somewhere else, but haven’t yet. I also work at Lāhaināluna High School . . . the principal told us that they aren’t sure when it will reopen.

“My sister-in-law works at a hotel near the fires and they are taking good care of her — they gave her a longer amount of disaster relief pay.

Some helped, others move
“Some people are getting lots of help while others are going to have to move away from Maui from lack of help.” 

Among the most active groups helping Lāhainā evacuees have been Maui’s many churches whose congregations have been raising donations and taking in evacuees.

Baptist Church Pastor Matt Brunt said many people were still reported missing and there was a sense of despair among those who had not heard from missing relatives.

“They’re pretty certain that people they haven’t been able to find yet are most likely going to be a part of the count of people who have died,” said Brunt.

“It seems like people have the immediate supplies they need, but housing is definitely is the biggest need now — to get people out of these shelters and find them a place to live.

“There’s a mixed response of how people feel about the response time of the government, but we also see just how many individuals are stepping out and meeting the needs of these people.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The death toll from the devastating wildfire that engulfed the historic beachside town of Lāhainā on the island of Maui in Hawai’i, continues to rise, with 55 reported dead so far.

Images of Lāhainā show a town obliterated by wildfires with homes and cars in ashes.

Thousands have lost everything and have evacuated to emergency centres.

The firestorm hit Lāhainā like a blowtorch, with wildfires from vegetation fanned by sustained 100km/h winds generated from a hurricane located south of Hawai’i.

“The fire started on the top of the mountain within about a five-mile radius from us,” Leimoana Fa’alogo, a 28-year-old resident of Lāhainā who witnessed the disaster, said.

“The fire was moving down the hill superfast and I would say that within 10 minutes it reached the town and within another 10 minutes moved from one neighbourhood to the next,” Fa’alogo said.

“Because of the high winds from Hurricane Dora, the fire was moving fast and soon people were trying to evacuate.”

‘It was moving too fast’
Fa’alogo told RNZ Pacific ceaseless winds intensified the firewall, which quickly reached the town. It moved so fast, firefighters were unable to keep up.

“They were responding but because of the high winds, it was moving too fast for them,” Fa’alogo said.

“They just weren’t able to respond quickly enough and didn’t have the manpower to continue.”

Realising the fires could not be stopped, Lāhainā residents abandoned their homes and evacuated. Some residents jumped into the ocean as their escape routes became cutoff by fires.

“We were in the home with my husband and when I looked outside there was smoke everywhere,” Lāhainā resident Alejandra Bautista said.

“It was scary, we just grabbed some things and left. I’ve lost my house.”

Realising the fires could not be stopped, Lāhainā residents abandoned their homes and evacuated. Some residents jumped into the ocean as their escape routes became cutoff by fires.

“We were in the home with my husband and when I looked outside there was smoke everywhere,” Lāhainā resident Alejandra Bautista said.

‘Scary – I’ve lost my house’
“It was scary, we just grabbed some things and left. I’ve lost my house.”

Many residents left Lāhainā as the town burned around them. Social media videos by drivers showed apocalyptic scenes with houses burning on both sides of the road, as they navigated around debris on the road.

“It was just hectic, and because there were so many electrical poles that fell and roads were blocked, but everyone was in panic mode and just trying to get out,” Fa’alogo said.

“My whole neighbourhood is gone, it’s just all gone, homes damaged, bodies on the street, cars abandoned — caught on fire, people jumping into the water.

“It’s like a movie, these are things you see in a movie, that’s exactly what it looks like. Our town just looks like The Walking Dead.”

Aid package
As the town continued to burn, US President Joe Biden agreed to an aid package submitted by Hawai’i’s Governor Josh Green. No specific figure was given, but the package will cover damages of residents and businesses affected.

“What we saw is likely the largest disaster in Hawai’i state history,” Green said.

“We are going to need to house thousands of people. It’s our intent to initially seek 2000 rooms so we can get housing for people. That means reaching out to hotels and those in the community.”

Fa’alogo was among those thousands — who were staying in churches, schools and community centres across Maui.

“Right now, we have been evacuated and we are currently at the Latter Day Saints Church. We’re getting a lot of help with toiletries, clothes and a lot of food . . . were getting more food than in our own home.

“We have organisations like the Tongan ward of the LDS Church and the Relief Society, they cooked for us last night and we’re up until 2am because people were still arriving looking for shelter.”

Wildfires have razed much of Hawai‘i’s former capital Lahaina to the ground. Colonial land practices and tourism are largely to blame, experts say. pic.twitter.com/B9SmrPEwxr

— AJ+ (@ajplus) August 10, 2023

Most Maui homes safe
While Lāhainā and at least two other smaller settlements were torched by wildfires, the majority of homes on Maui were safe.

Sandy Kapukala, who lived in the town of Kihei, told RNZ Pacific the western part of the island where Lāhainā is located had been badly hit, while other areas such as the capital Kahului were unaffected.

“There’s still no power, we don’t, we haven’t heard from a lot of people. The roads are blocked, people can’t get into that part of the island but the part of the island where I am . . .  it’s a sunny beautiful day and people are on vacation, so it’s one extreme to the other.”

Fa’alogo said the main concern of the Lāhainā community was contacting family and friends separated during the disaster.

Many residents were still being evacuated from the Lāhainā area and surrounding communities where roads have been blocked, she said.

“The whole town is sad and a lot of people are trying to locate their families because they were separated.

“Currently, the side of the island where Lāhainā is located, is running out of water and food, and there’s still people who need to be evacuated to Kahului [capital of Maui].”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A New Zealander on holiday in Maui says the wildfires devastating the Hawai’ian island are unlike anything he has seen before.

Deadly wildfires on Maui prompted a county-wide state of emergency, and several brush fires have also caused evacuations on Hawai’i Island.

Officials say at least 53 people have died and more than 270 buildings have been damaged or destroyed, the BBC reported.

US President Joe Biden declared a major disaster in the state of Hawai’i, meaning the federal government will provide funding to assist state and local recovery efforts.

Canada-based New Zealander Tim Hoy, who was on holiday in Maui, said powerful winds fuelled the fires as they spread.

“We’re located in between two fires right now, and the wind forces have been nothing like I’ve witnessed before,” he said.

“I’ve spent a lot of years in Wellington, it’s stronger than what you’d see on the strongest day in Wellington.”

Hundreds of NZers in Hawai’i
House of Travel chief operating officer Brent Thomas said hundreds of New Zealanders were on Hawai’i when the fires started.

“It’s a very popular destination, particularly given it’s winter in New Zealand,” he said.

“We’ve got hundreds of people up there at the moment, but obviously not all of them are impacted.”

🎥WATCH: On-air view of Hawaii County after the fire incidents. #Hawaiiwildfires #mauifire #Hawaiifire #MauiWildfires pic.twitter.com/5lf8vvvjOM

— Forsige Breaking News (@ForsigeNews) August 10, 2023

Hoy said one of the fires was under control, but the other was still raging.

“They’ve done a great job of controlling one of the fires,” he said.

“The other one, it’s completely wiped out a township and it’s unable to be contained.”

Maui County estimated more than 270 buildings had been damaged in the fires.

“My daughter’s friend, her family’s house was burned down,” Hoy said. “They’re currently a few miles down the coast staying at accommodation there.”

Lāhainā devastated
The fire on the island’s west coast tore through the town of Lāhainā. Hoy said everyone there was told to evacuate.

“The area that got wiped out was a major tourist destination, and everyone’s been asked to leave Maui if they can,” he said. “So they’ve headed to the airport, and there’s people in shelters.”

Hawaii wildfires scorched land ‘like an apocalypse’
The wildfires began on Tuesday and spread quickly, fuelled by strong winds generated by Hurricane Dora#Hawaiiwildfires pic.twitter.com/CqG6o8Y5er

— Uelinton Arakaki (@ArakakiUelinton) August 10, 2023

Hawai’i Tourism Authority public affairs officer Illihia Gionson said Lāhainā, which was once the capital of the Kingdom of Hawai’i, had historic and cultural importance.

“One of the most historic towns on Maui, Lāhainā, is for all intents and purposes burnt to the ground,” he said.

“Little left there other than ash and rubble, lots of older buildings [made of] wood. So it appears a lot of those landmarks are gone.”

Gionson said the safety of tourists was vital, but local residents needed the most support.

“We think about the importance of assisting visitors in getting out, to free up those resources and attention for the thousands of residents whose homes were affected, whose businesses were affected, whose livelihoods were affected,” he said.

“We’re keeping them front and centre in our thoughts and prayers.”

Victoria University Pacific Studies lecturer Dr Emalani Case, who was born in Hawai’i, said residents of Maui should come first.

She urged would-be tourists to stay away while the island recovered.

“A really important message to come out of what’s unfolding right now is: don’t go to Maui,” she said.

“If you’re planning a trip, don’t go there. The resources and the energies and the money on that island right now really needs to go to the people who are living there and who are going to have to struggle for a while.”

Dr Case said it was an emotional time for all Hawai’ians.

“It’s so hard to be so far away,” she said. “I don’t even think we know the scale of it all yet, but just watching it online has been heartbreaking.”

New Zealand’s Fire and Emergency said it was prepared to send firefighters to Hawai’i if the US government asked for help.

“We keep in frequent touch with our counterparts in Canada and the US during the northern hemisphere fire season,” a spokesperson said.

“So far we have not received a formal request for assistance from the USA.”

Service delivery wildfire manager Tim Mitchell said fires like those on Maui were extremely destructive.

“They get very hot, we’re talking hundreds or even thousands of degrees,” he said. “Under those conditions they’re just not survivable, and they absolutely consume everything in their path.”

He said it was vital for people to be aware of wildfire risks.

“They will spread faster than what you can outrun,” he said.

New Zealand will enter its own wildfire season within the next couple of months.

Mitchell said a fire could start anywhere and at any time.

“Historically, we wouldn’t have necessarily thought of Hawai’i as a high wildfire risk place, there’s places in New Zealand that we wouldn’t consider high risk,” he said.

“It just goes to show that, if you’ve got the dry vegetation and you get a spark or an ignition, that wildfires can occur everywhere.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ. Additional reporting by the BBC.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz