Maui Residents Rebuild Lahaina for Locals, Not Tourists: ‘In Hawaii, We Take Care of One Another’

Nearly three years after the deadliest wildfires in modern American history devastated the historic town of Lahaina, residents are leading a grassroots rebuilding effort focused on restoring community life rather than catering to tourism. Compounding storms, ongoing housing instability and recent federal immigration enforcement actions have only strengthened locals’ resolve to rebuild on their own terms.

The August 8, 2023 firestorm that consumed Lahaina remains a defining trauma for Maui. Fueled by hurricane-force winds from a passing storm system and compounded by decades of invasive, drought-prone grasses replacing native vegetation on former plantation lands, the blaze incinerated one of the most historically significant towns in the Pacific. Lahaina had once served as the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii and housed centuries-old landmarks, including the beloved 150-year-old banyan tree on Front Street, which miraculously survived but suffered severe damage. The official death toll eventually climbed past 100, with billions of dollars in property losses and a class-action settlement approaching $4 billion reached with Hawaiian Electric and other defendants.

Rebuilding has been slowed by a tangle of insurance disputes, environmental testing for toxic ash, water infrastructure damage and a chronic shortage of affordable housing that predates the fire. Maui’s median home price exceeded $1.3 million even before the disaster, and tourism-driven real estate speculation has long pushed multigenerational Native Hawaiian and immigrant families off the island. Community leaders worry that without deliberate protections, vacant parcels in Lahaina could be acquired by outside investors and redeveloped into vacation rentals or luxury resorts — accelerating a pattern of displacement activists call a “second disaster.” Grassroots coalitions, including Lahaina Strong and Nā ʻOhana o Lele, have pressed for a moratorium on short-term rentals, kuleana land protections for native families, and a resident-first rebuilding plan.

Compounding these long-term pressures, March’s floods damaged recovery sites and reopened questions about the island’s climate resilience. At the same time, federal immigration enforcement actions across Maui have rattled the Filipino, Micronesian and Latin American communities that make up much of the island’s construction, hospitality and agricultural labor — the same workers rebuilding Lahaina brick by brick. Advocates note that fear of deportation has kept some families from accessing disaster aid, medical care and even school services, further straining an already fragile recovery. Roughly 40% of Lahaina’s pre-fire population identified as Filipino, and many were among those most severely affected.

What happens in Lahaina over the next year will likely shape the state’s approach to disaster recovery for a generation. Governor Josh Green’s administration has pledged to prioritize local housing, and the Maui County Council has moved to phase out thousands of short-term vacation rentals in apartment-zoned areas — a measure fiercely contested by property owners and real estate interests. Residents, meanwhile, continue to organize mutual aid hubs, cultural ceremonies and community land trusts, insisting that the Lahaina that rises from the ash reflects the people who called it home long before it became a tourist destination.