U.S. officials have extended federal housing assistance for survivors of catastrophic 2023 wildfires on Maui, granting relief to nearly 1,000 displaced households. The Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem approved Hawaii Governor Josh Green’s request on Friday to continue Federal Emergency Management Agency temporary housing assistance until February 2027, more than a year longer than previously scheduled.
The extension addresses a housing crisis distinct among U.S. wildfire disasters. Limited rental inventory on the island and Maui’s remote location from the mainland have made rebuilding and relocation exceptionally difficult, forcing survivors to depend on temporary federal assistance while reconstruction remains incomplete.
The August 2023 Lahaina and Kula fires destroyed 2,200 structures and killed 102 people. The disaster displaced thousands of residents, 89% of whom were renters at the time the fires broke out. The Biden administration declared a major disaster and unlocked FEMA assistance to help 12,000 displaced people, establishing an 18-month temporary housing program.
The original program was scheduled to end in February 2026. With few homes rebuilt and rental inventory near zero in one of the nation’s most expensive housing markets, Hawaii requested an extension. The island’s limited housing stock and remote location from the mainland created obstacles unlike other wildfire disasters: survivors faced acute difficulty both rebuilding and relocating while maintaining ties to work, schools, and community.
Federal Emergency Response
The agency’s response was immediate. In the weeks following the fires, FEMA and the Red Cross housed 8,000 residents in hotels and temporary shelters. Over time, assistance evolved: FEMA offered rental support, installed temporary shelters on burned properties, and leased units to rent back to survivors.
Residents Find Relief
Kukui Keahi, a Lahaina fire survivor and associate director of Kako’o Maui Programs at the nonprofit Hawaiian Council, said the extension brought immediate relief. “It lifted a weight I did not even realize I was carrying, and I know many other families were carrying that same weight too,” Keahi said.
Governor Green echoed the sentiment in his statement. “Recovery doesn’t follow an artificial deadline and I appreciate Secretary Noem and the administration for recognizing the reality families are still facing on the ground here in Hawai’i,” he said.
The extension offers breathing room for residents still navigating the aftermath of the disaster. Steven Hew, a 52-year-old restaurant cashier, learned of the extension when contacted by the Associated Press. Hew rents a subsidized apartment from FEMA after the fire destroyed his family’s multigenerational home in Lahaina. He said he was “shaking” after hearing the news.
“A lot of people were on edge and scared and didn’t know what they were going to do” if the assistance had expired, Hew said. He plans to save enough money over the next year to rent a place independently.
“Somebody had a heart and just said ‘Yes,’ and whoever that person was, I thank them,” he said.
Rebuilding Reality
Not all survivors found the process smooth. Eligibility requirements created hurdles for some, and numerous residents moved multiple times as they transitioned between housing programs. Yet the assistance prevented immediate displacement for families with few other options in Maui’s constrained rental market.
The extension through February 2027 gives displaced households time to find permanent housing, rebuild, or make other arrangements. For a population largely unhoused before the disaster, continued federal assistance remains essential to a recovery process that continues nearly three years after the fires.