News and Media: Disaster 4724

One year after the devastating wildfires that impacted the people of Maui, White House Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood Randall -- representing President Biden -- FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell and U.S. Fire Administrator Dr. Lori Moore Merrell will join county and state officials in Maui to commemorate the anniversary in support of the community.

FEMA, along with our federal partners, are on track to provide approximately $3 billion towards Maui wildfire recovery. This includes more than $1.3 billion in mission assignments to expedite recovery through debris removal and disposal, temporary housing, school construction, and infrastructure repair.

KIHEI, Hawaiʻi – For survivors of the Maui wildfires, navigating disaster resources is critical to their recovery. With the wide variety of languages spoken in Hawaiʻi, many survivors require interpreters to access the information they need. Language interpretation is one of a long list of services that the Federal Emergency Management Agency provides after a state receives a major presidential disaster declaration. FEMA staff identifies contractors to provide language, security, and janitorial services as well as supplies, everything from pencils to rental trucks and portable restrooms.

Each day, work crews clearing debris from the burned areas greet the rising and setting sun in prayer. In their dusty, steel-toed boots and neon vests, these men and women form a circle, their rhythmic clapping a signal of their physical, emotional and spiritual connection to each other and the land they labor over. They believe the blessing, or pule, keeps them safe from the dangers they navigate daily.

For longtime Lahaina resident Kim Ball, the sound of construction echoing along Komo Mai Street is a welcome harbinger of renewal. Already, the foundation of his new home is emerging from the outlines of the one destroyed by wildfires last August. Standing on his property, Ball can also see the work beginning on his neighbor’s house. Down the hill, another new home is further along. Its roof is already in place.