With key deadline approaching, FEMA seeks long-term housing for Maui evacuees

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - As the four-month anniversary of the Maui wildfires disaster approaches, extensive recovery efforts remain ongoing.

Federal, state and county officials are working with thousands of victims — and next Monday is the deadline for those impacted to apply for assistance with FEMA.

Right now, one of the pressing matters facing the agency is securing long-term housing for survivors.

“The owners of the vacation rental market do not want to lease them long term to provide enough time to rebuild Lahaina and that’s the critical part of this disaster is being able to do that and show some compassion,” said FEMA Region 9 regional Administrator Bob Fenton.

Pledging big bucks, Green seeks vacation rentals for evacuees — and broader housing relief

With contracts ending with several Maui hotels to house survivors through the Red Cross’ emergency non-congregate shelter program, FEMA is in the process of trying to lock down long-term housing options.

Fenton says over 1,300 people are currently in need of direct housing with another 300 still in the application process.

Just last week, Gov. Josh Green and Maui Mayor Richard Bissen proposed incentives for rental owners to make their units available for evacuees and FEMA is hopeful that’s a solution as agencies prepare for the next step of debris removal for Lahaina properties.

“It’s gonna take six months to a year to remove the debris,” Fenton said.

“It’s gonna take longer to rebuild, until we rebuild those properties that were lost, we need to create the space and a stable safe housing solution for those that have lost everything.”

The Environmental Protection Agency recently announced the completion of phase one debris removal for Lahaina and Upcountry and the next step involves clearing of individual properties, which requires owners to sign right of entry forms to allow contractors to operate.

Fenton says less than a thousand right of entry forms have been received out of more than 3,700 impacted units.

He also adds government removal is the most efficient and cost-effective option as private cleanup can cost at least $70,000.

“I think as a homeowner, if I saw a 13-page document, I’d be a little concerned and would probably need some help filling that out,” Fenton said.

“The good news is the reason they went with a longer document is they want to make sure that the homeowner has every chance to really provide direction to the Corps of Engineers of what they want touched, what they don’t want touched.”

Fenton adds crews are making progress in building out a temporary elementary school near the Kapalua airport.

The hope is to have it ready by February.

The deadline to apply for both FEMA assistance, as well as, help from the Small Business Administration is Monday, December 11.

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