Gov. Josh Green celebrated the groundbreaking last spring for a development of 450 small homes in West Maui, hailing it as a pivotal housing project for wildfire survivors ineligible for federal aid. HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow).
LAHAINA, Maui - A community of 167 brightly colored temporary homes for wildfire survivors was completed this week on a Lahaina hillside where no housing existed a few months ago. The final modular home at the Kilohana group housing site, developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was installed and is ready for occupancy. Ohana Hope Village was designed by Hawaii Off-grid leveraging research-based, trauma.
On Friday, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem approved Hawaiʻi's request to extend FEMA temporary housing assistance for Maui wildfire survivors until February 2027. Just last week, Hawaii Governor Josh Green joined state leaders and community members to unveil Ka La'i Ola, Maui's largest interim housing development for wildfire survivors.
Made up of modular tiny homes, the new housing community spans 57 acres and is already home to 320 families, or nearly 900 people. An initial increment of new rent-free temporary homes developed in Lahaina by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for survivors of the 2023 Maui wildfires has opened for use. The first 24 homes in FEMA's 167.
After Lahaina burned in August 2023, the state invested in a modular home development, hoping to nurture community and leave behind permanent infrastructure. FEMA extends housing aid for Maui wildfire survivors until 2027 1 of 2 Burned cars and propane tanks with markings on them sit outside a house destroyed by wildfire, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii.
(AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File). National links: Modular homes provide quick temporary housing for Maui fire survivors Links By Jeff Wood (Contributor) May 16, 2025 Lahaina, Hawaii, in 2021 by Bill Morson licensed under Creative Commons. How Hawaii is addressing the housing needs of survivors of the Lahaina wildfire.