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A surfer lost part of a leg in a morning shark attack in Maui on Friday, authorities said. Police officers applied two tourniquets to control bleeding before the victim was taken to a hospital. First responders said the victim lost part of a leg just below a knee. Such closures after a shark attack usually span one mile in each direction. The Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File recorded 69 unprovoked bites and 22 provoked bites last year worldwide.

Persons: Jeff Giesea, Giesea, wherewithal Organizations: Maui Department of Fire, Public Safety, Police, NBC, Florida Museum, Natural Locations: Maui, Maui County, Honolulu, U.S, Hawaii

There is no evidence to suggest the fire was intentionally set, Maui Fire and Public Safety Chief Bradford Ventura said. The Lahaina fire was one of three wildfires that ignited on Maui that day; the report did not address the two other, less-destructive fires. Since last year, thousands of residents have sued Hawaiian Electric, Maui County and the state of Hawaii over the fire. The utility has acknowledged that one of its downed power lines ignited a blaze early that morning off Lahainaluna Road in the hills above Lahaina. Maui County announced a few hours later that firefighters had fully contained it.

Persons: Bradford Ventura, Jeffrey Giesea, “, Giesea, Jonathan Blais, Josh Green Organizations: Maui Fire Department, U.S . Bureau, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, Investigators, Maui Fire, Public Safety, ”, Hawaiian Electric, Hawaiian, Electric Co, Hawaii Gov, Associated Press Locations: Maui, Hawaii, Lahaina, Seattle, Maui County

☆ Deadly Maui fire erupted from earlier blaze believed to have been extinguished, investigation finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-02 | by ( Associated Press | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

A Hawaiian Electric power line fell early on the morning of Aug. 8, sparking a fire in overgrown brush near the edge of town. Pictures and crosses are displayed at a public hillside memorial to Lahaina wildfire victims on August 1, 2024 in Lahaina, Hawaii. First responders also had trouble getting a firm answer from Hawaiian Electric representatives if the power had been cut to the area. That’s the amount the defendants — including Hawaiian Electric, the state, Maui County, large landowners and others — have agreed to pay to settle claims. Lawyers for people seeking compensation fear allowing insurance companies to sue Hawaiian Electric and others will subvert the deal, drain what is available to pay fire victims and lead to prolonged litigation.

Persons: Josh Green, Mario Tama, — Organizations: Honolulu AP, US, of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, Maui Fire Department, Getty, Hawaiian Electric, Hawaii Gov, Electric, Hawaii Supreme, policyholders Locations: Honolulu, Maui, Lahaina, Lahaina , Hawaii, West Maui, Hawaii, California, Paradise, Maui County

☆ Couple dies while snorkeling during Hawaii babymoon
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-20 | by ( Samantha Kubota | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Family and friends are mourning the deaths of a Washington state couple who died while snorkeling on vacation in Hawaii. Family members identified the couple on their verified GoFundMe page as 25-year-old Ilya Tsaruk and 26-year-old Sophia Tsaruk. Local NBC affiliate KING reports the couple lived in Snohomish, Washington, according to public records. In an interview with local news outlet KITV, family members said the Tsaruks traveled to Hawaii for a babymoon with two other couples, including Ilya Tsaruk’s brother and his wife. “We don’t think that she suffocated in the mask,” Ilya Tsaruk’s brother Anatoliy Tsaruk told KITV.

Persons: Ilya Tsaruk, Sophia Tsaruk, Ilya Tsaruk’s, Anatoliy Tsaruk, KITV, ”, Melody, “, ” Taisiya Tsaruk Organizations: Local NBC, KING Locations: Washington, Hawaii, Maui, Maui County, Snohomish , Washington

☆ Report finds ‘no evidence’ Hawaii officials prepared for Maui wildfire that killed 102 despite warnings
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-14 | by ( Associated Press | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Honolulu (AP) — Investigators reviewing the emergency response to last year’s wildfire that killed 102 people on Maui said in a report released Friday they found “no evidence” Hawaii officials made preparations for it, despite days of warnings that critical fire weather was coming. The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency didn’t immediately respond with comment. Maui fire commanders discussed the forecast, but “no evidence of pre-event preparedness plans by the MFD were produced,” the report said. Maui County and the state use private contractors to help fight fires with water tankers and heavy equipment. And despite the warnings, the heads of the county emergency management agency and the Maui Fire Department were off-island that day, attending conferences in Honolulu.

Persons: —, Anne Lopez, Maui’s, Richard Bissen, Hawaii Emergency Management Agency didn’t, weren’t, Firefighters, ” Derek Alkonis Organizations: — Investigators, National Weather Service, Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, Maui Fire Department, Maui Police, Hawaiian Electric Co, Firefighters, Fire Safety Research Institute, Maui Police Department Locations: Honolulu, Maui, Hawaii, Lahaina, State, Maui County, West Maui

☆ Maui could soon ban some Airbnbs. Short-term rental owners say it will be financially devastating for them.
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-08 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

When researching the properties, he confirmed their tax status as short-term rentals on the county site. Jason Gobey, another short-term rental owner, told BI he researched and spoke to real-estate agents as well as others before buying his one-bedroom condo in Kihei in 2019. He also said he confirmed the property's tax status as a short-term rental and had no idea there could be an issue with it. Though some of the Minatoya List properties will likely be converted to long-term rentals, Church said it is not financially feasible for him. But the benefit of adding the Minatoya List properties to the housing stock is that they are already built.

Persons: —, Andrew Church, Mario Tama, Richard Bissen, Church, Jason Gobey, Gobey, Smith, Justin Tyndall, Tyndall, that's, it's Organizations: Service, Business, Church, Owners, Maui, Maui Planning, University of Hawaii Locations: Maui, Lahaina, Barcelona, New York City, South Maui, West Maui, Kihei, Arizona, Manoa

☆ Maui tourism still hasn't recovered since the Lahaina fire. The manager of the resort where 'The White Lotus' was shot says now is a great time to visit.
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-04 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

AdvertisementSome locals and business owners were quick to encourage tourists to return, citing the importance of tourism to the island's economy. According to the Maui Economic Development Board, around 70% of every dollar in Maui County is generated, either directly or indirectly, by the tourism industry. Tourism numbers from June 2024 show that nearly a year on, visit numbers had yet to return to their pre-fire levels. Tourists are still encouraged to act responsibly when they visit Maui, and there are opportunities to donate or help out with Lahaina recovery efforts. Shank said the Four Seasons is also encouraging tourists to actively get out and support the island during their visit.

Persons: —, Ben Shank, Shank, " Shank, Lisa Paulson, Paulson, Smith Organizations: Service, Business, Maui Economic Development Board, Hawaii Department of Business, Economic, Tourism, Hawaii State Rural Health Association, Lodging Association, Travel Locations: Maui, Lahaina Town, Maui County, Lahaina, Hawaii, cabanas, Europe, Hana

☆ Maui Wildfire Plaintiffs Reach $4 Billion Settlement as Anniversary Nears
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Shawn Hubler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Nearly a year after a ferocious wildfire on Maui killed 102 people and leveled the historic town of Lahaina, Hawaii’s largest utility has agreed to pay the largest share of a legal settlement totaling just over $4 billion and compensating more than 10,000 homeowners, businesses and other plaintiffs. The proposed agreement was filed late Friday in a Maui-based state court, six days before the anniversary of the disaster. Fire victims and insurers have spent months in court-ordered mediation with the state, Maui County, large private landowners and utilities within the fire zone to resolve more than 600 lawsuits brought in state and federal courts by survivors of the catastrophe. More than 3,000 homes and other structures were damaged or destroyed, and thousands of residents were killed, injured or displaced. Josh Green had pushed for a single global agreement among all the parties to litigation to swiftly compensate fire victims, rather than extending negotiations for years without payment.

Persons: Josh Green Organizations: Gov, Hawaiian Electric Locations: Lahaina, Maui, Maui County, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Hawaii

HONOLULU (AP) — Local officials in Hawaii next month plan to open an office that will speed up Maui County's notoriously slow processing of building permits to help the town of Lahaina to recover from last year's deadly wildfire. The new permitting center will help private developers building five separate projects with a combined total of more than 500 housing units. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is building 169 temporary housing units for displaced residents and is renting 1,300 units from landlords. The state of Hawaii is building about 450 temporary housing units, including 270 that will be ready by July or August. The state's temporary units are expected to be used for three to five years.

Persons: Keanu Lau Hee, Lau Hee, “, ” Organizations: —, Maui, University of Hawaii, Federal Emergency Management Agency Locations: HONOLULU, Hawaii, Lahaina, we’re, Maui County

It's a story increasingly familiar in the energy industry: Some utility companies don't properly assess the risks wildfires pose to their operations. The primary purpose is to prevent power lines from igniting a wildfire during periods of high fire danger. The lawsuit also alleges the company "inexcusably kept their power lines energized during the forecasted high-fire danger conditions." A PG&E utility worker locates a gas main line in the rubble of a home burned down by wildfire in Paradise, California, Nov. 13, 2018. Several of those agencies track statewide wildfire information, but most did not keep track of the names of utility companies associated with wildfire incidents.

Persons: Michelle Glogovac, Glogovac, Laurie Allen, Brent Jones, Allen, Jones, inexcusably, Michael Wara, Shelee Kimura, Yuki Iwamura, David Pomerantz, Pomerantz, Patti Poppe, It's, JOSH EDELSON, Warren Buffett's, Stanford's, CNBC's Brian Sullivan, David Paul Morris, Institute's Pomerantz, Tama Organizations: CNBC, Electric, Energy, Stanford University, Hawaiian Electric, AFP, Getty, Policy, Policy Institute, NV Energy, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Bloomberg, Getty Images Locations: Paradise , California, Lahaina , Hawaii, Hawaii, Maui, Maui County, Lahaina, California, Nevada, Warren, — Arizona, California , Colorado, Hawaii , Montana , Nevada , New Mexico , Oregon , Utah, Washington, Arizona , New Mexico, Utah

Several callers reached out to 911 throughout the morning asking for wellness checks for relatives or friends they couldn’t reach. Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesAnother caller at about 9:45 a.m. called to report that his wife was missing. In one case, a 911 caller reported that a family missing their 15-year-old son had been “ignored.”The operator answers were the same each time. Emergency responders weren’t able to help find missing people because they were still trying to get everyone to safety, still working hotspots and responding to fires. In one case, a 911 caller reported seeing flames and hotspots on their property and trying to put them out with a garden hose that was rapidly losing pressure.

Persons: didn't, —, “, ”, “ I’m, We’re, “ She's, “ I'm, ___ Boone, Lauer, Whitehurst, Corey Williams, Audrey McAvoy Organizations: Maui Police Department, Cell, Authorities, Associated Press Locations: Maui, Lahaina, Maui County, Kula, Kihei, Upcountry, ___, Boise , Idaho, Philadelphia, Washington, Detroit, Honolulu , Hawaii

More than 8,000 people, mostly Native Hawaiians, perished at Kalaupapa, including Damien, who eventually contracted leprosy, later called Hansen’s disease. Damien’s love for Kalaupapa’s people was unconditional, said Barbara Jean Wajda of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities. “They keep me like this, make me strong.”She enjoys when people visit and when the church brings pilgrims, she said. The walls of the sisters' house, Kalaupapa’s largest dwelling, are filled with photos of the sisters who worked on the settlement after Marianne. “And we both feel connected to the patients, to the land, to the saints who were here, declared and undeclared,” Wajda said.

Persons: Saint Damien of Molokai, Kalaupapa’s, Damien’s, ”, Lance Toyofuku, ” Kalaupapa, Father Damien, Mother Marianne —, Alicia Damien Lau, Damien, Joseph De Veuster, Saint Marianne, Patrick Killilea, “ Fr, Paddy, “ It’s, Philomena, Barbara Jean Wajda, Francis, Lau, ” Marianne Cope, Marianne, Tonata Lolesio, ” Lolesio, “, Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva’s, Silva, didn’t, that’s, Wajda, Francis Church, she’s, Watanuki, ” Bishop Silva, ” Keani Rawlins, Fernandez, Mother Marianne, Marianne . Lau, Alicia, ” Wajda, ” They’ve Organizations: Toyota, National Park Service, St, Neumann, Sacred Hearts School, Honolulu Bishop, “, Associated Press, Maui County Council, Lilly Endowment Inc, AP Locations: KALAUPAPA, Hawaii, Kalaupapa, Molokai, Belgian, Hawaii’s, Honolulu, Belgium, Germany, Maui, Lahaina, American Samoa, Maui County

☆ For Some Maui Fire Victims, $1 Million Payments Are Too Little, Too Soon
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-19 | by ( Dan Frosch | Christine Mai-Duc | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A public memorial honors the people who died in the Lahaina, Hawaii, wildfire this summer. Photo: Mario Tama/Getty ImagesAfter Kimberly Buen learned her elderly father was killed in the August fire that burned the historic Hawaiian town of Lahaina to the ground, she needed to know who was ultimately responsible. Buen diligently listened to news conferences about how the deadly fire sparked. She read about the highly flammable grasses that blanketed nearby property. Buen, who lives in Palmdale, Calif., also retained an attorney to prepare a wrongful-death lawsuit against Hawaiian Electric, Maui County, the state of Hawaii and Kamehameha Schools, a local landowner, who she said needed to be held accountable for their roles in the fire.

Persons: Mario Tama, Kimberly Buen, Buen Organizations: Hawaiian, Kamehameha Schools Locations: Lahaina, Hawaii, Palmdale, Calif, Maui County

☆ Some See Maui Fire Victim Fund as Too Little, Too Soon
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-19 | by ( Dan Frosch | Christine Mai-Duc | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Persons: Mario Tama, Kimberly Buen, Buen Organizations: Hawaiian, Kamehameha Schools Locations: Lahaina, Hawaii, Palmdale, Calif, Maui County

☆ Water at Kealia pond in Hawaii has turned pink amid drought
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Angela Fritz | Abigail Holmes | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Water at the Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge, one of the few coastal salt marshes on the island of Maui, has been bright pink since at least October 30, officials say, after its salt content surged amid an extreme drought. While Kealia literally means “salt encrustation,” the pond’s salinity has skyrocketed well beyond normal because of Maui’s extreme drought. The entire island is in severe or worse drought, according to the US Drought Monitor. The area where the Kealia Pond refuge is located is in what’s considered an extreme drought – the second-worst on the Drought Monitor’s scale. @Traviskeahi_photo/InstagramThe Waikapu Stream, which brings water from the West Maui Mountains down into the Kealia Pond, also flows through the area of extreme drought.

Persons: Kealia Organizations: CNN, Wildlife, University of Hawaii, Fish and Wildlife Service, US Drought Monitor Locations: Hawaii, Maui, Salt, what’s, West Maui, Maui County, Lahaina

☆ I'm a Hawaiian Local. Here's What I Think About the Tourism Industry.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Pooja Mistry | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Keani Rawlins-Fernandez grew up in Hawaii and has seen tourism increase over the years. Now a local council member, Rawlins-Fernandez says locals can feel overrun by tourists. Many economic, social, and financial issues arise with unrestricted tourism, and I don't know how Hawaii will continue to cope with these numbers. I grew up in Molokai, the only island of Hawaii where the economy is not reliant on tourism. My island in Molokai fared better because the model is to cater to local businesses and local patrons instead.

Persons: Keani Rawlins, Fernandez, Rawlins, —, Uncle Walter Ritte, We've, aren't, I've Organizations: Service, Maui County Council, Kaho'olawe, Systems, Fernandez Tourism, Department of Transportation Locations: Hawaii, Maui County, Molokai, Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaiian, Maui, Zion, Utah

Josh Green on Wednesday announced the creation of a $150 million fund to help those who lost family members or who were injured in Maui's wildfires. Beneficiaries will receive payments of more than $1 million as early as next year, the governor's office said in a news release. Those getting money from the fund will waive their right to file legal claims. The fund aims to enable swift and generous financial payments for losses without requiring people to go through time-consuming litigation, the release said. The fund is modeled on the September 11thVictim Compensation Fund, Green said in livestreamed address.

Persons: Josh Green, Green Organizations: —, Wednesday, Electric, Kamehameha Schools, Federal Emergency Management Agency Locations: HONOLULU, — Hawaii, Lahaina, Maui County

HONOLULU (AP) — Maui police held a news conference on Monday to show 16 minutes of body camera footage taken the day a wildfire tore through Lahaina town in August, including video of officers rescuing 15 people from a coffee shop and taking a severely burned man to a hospital. Earlier this month, Maui County provided the AP with 911 call recordings in response to an open records request. Officers ushered out 15 people from the coffee shop as smoke swirled in the sky around them, loaded the group into police SUVs and took them to the Lahaina Civic Center. In another clip, an officer finds a badly burned man at a shopping center and put him in the back seat of his patrol car. The fast-moving wildfire on Aug. 8 killed at least 99 people and burned more than 2,000 structures.

Persons: John Pelletier Organizations: Lahaina Civic Center, Co Locations: HONOLULU, Lahaina, Maui County, Wailuku, Hawaii

☆ Hawaii Bribery Scandal Casts a Shadow Over Lahaina’s Ruins
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Blaze Lovell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After a major contracting scandal broke out in Hawaii last year, the mayor of Maui County appeared on television to express outrage and announce a sweeping audit of contracts awarded to a corrupt businessman. But no one told the county auditor, who said he only heard about the audit on the news. In the end, the audit was never completed, and the county’s flawed system for awarding contracts — a system marred by bribery and a lack of competition — remains largely the way it was. Now, as Maui recovers from the devastating wildfires that swept across parts of the island in August and killed at least 99 people, millions of dollars will be spent on rebuilding critical infrastructure using the same flawed contract-monitoring system. The bribery case involving the businessman, Milton Choy, prompted some county officials to begin phasing out the use of sole-source contracts — which are awarded without competitive bidding when officials determine that only one vendor is able to supply a particular good or service — but the practice is still in use in the county.

Persons: Milton Choy Locations: Hawaii, Maui County, Maui

HONOLULU (AP) — All of West Maui except for burned-out sections of historic Lahaina will reopen to tourism on Nov. 1 following the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than century, the mayor of Maui County said Monday. Mayor Richard Bissen said he made the move after talking about it with his Lahaina advisory team, the Red Cross and other partners. West Maui has about 11,000 hotel rooms, or about half of Maui's total. Josh Green last month declared West Maui would officially reopen to tourism on Oct. 8 to bring back badly needed jobs and help the economy recover. Residents who have been staying in West Maui hotels and other short-term accommodations after losing their homes in the fire won't lose their lodging, the mayor said.

Persons: Richard Bissen, Josh Green, Bissen, ”, ” Bissen, “ Organizations: Travelers, Hawaii Gov Locations: HONOLULU, West Maui, Lahaina, Maui County, Maui, Hawaii

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — The death toll for the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century has increased by one, to 99, after Maui County police found additional remains. The remains were recovered on Oct. 12 in Lahaina, police spokesperson Alana Pico said in an email Friday. So far police have identified the remains of 97 people from the Aug. 8 fire that wiped out much of Lahaina, a historic town on Maui's west coast. Powerful winds related to a hurricane passing to Hawaii's south carried embers from house to house and hampered firefighting efforts. More than 2,000 buildings were destroyed, and some 8,000 people were forced to move to hotels and other temporary shelter.

Persons: Alana Pico Organizations: Associated Press Locations: LAHAINA, Hawaii, Maui County, Lahaina, Maui's, Lahaina's, Hawaii's

Hawaiian Electric, the state’s primary electric utility company, has acknowledged its power lines started a wildfire on Maui that morning. One caller said cars were being routed into a gated parking lot and were forced to turn around. A third caller told dispatchers they needed to open a road on the south side of town, warning that the blocked exit would result in people dying. One dispatcher told a caller stuck in traffic that emergency workers were busy “because Lahaina has a couple of house fires going on right now.”“If you’re safe, you need to stay there,” she said. Associated Press writers Lisa Baumann in Seattle; Chris Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon, contributed.

Persons: ”, “, “ It’s, Alana Pico, Hale, cinders, we’ve, ‘, We’re, Mahina Martin, ” Martin, ” ____ Lauer, Johnson, Lisa Baumann, Chris Keller, Claire Rush Organizations: Associated Press, Electric, Hawaiian Electric, Flames, Maui Police Department, AP, Lahaina Civic Locations: LAHAINA, Hawaii, Maui, Lahaina, Philadelphia, Seattle, Boone, Boise , Idaho, Albuquerque , New Mexico, Portland , Oregon

___4:41 p.m.A man called 911 saying he was seeking refuge in a big rig truck that he came across near the Pioneer Mill Smokestack just off Lahainaluna Road. The dispatcher asked if he could drive the rig to get away from the fire. “Do you think they’re there still,” the dispatcher asked. ___4:49 p.m.A man called to say he and his wife were trapped because she couldn’t get down the four flights of stairs in their apartment building. ___4:56 p.m.A dispatcher briefly chastised one man when he called to report his elderly parents were stuck in their burning home.

Persons: “ Ma’am, “ I’m, “, Jesus Christ, ”, Shrieks, couldn’t, they’re, “ We’ve, honking, I’m, we’ve, ‘, We’re, ’ Organizations: Associated Press, AP, Baker, Vehicles, Lahaina Civic Center Locations: Maui, Lahaina, Aki, sobs, Lahainaluna, ”

CNN —The Maui County Council has voted unanimously in favor of a resolution urging Hawaii’s governor to delay the October 8 reopening of West Maui to tourism. Deadly wildfires that broke out in West Maui in early August severely damaged the historic town of Lahaina, killing 97 people and destroying hundreds of residents’ homes. Josh Green previously announced state officials were looking to reopen West Maui beginning Sunday. Josh Green to delay plans to reopen a portion of West Maui to tourism. Green said in a statement Saturday many have asked about the right time to welcome visitors to West Maui.

Persons: Keani Rawlins, Fernandez, “, ” Rawlins, Josh Green, ” Green, Green, Kiakona, ” Kiakona, Tamara Paltin, Audrey McAvoy, Paltin, Richard Bissen Organizations: CNN, ”, Hawaii Gov, Residents, Hawaii Locations: Maui County, West Maui, Lahaina, Hawaii, Maui

Five hotels in West Maui were accepting reservations again, according to their websites and the Maui Hotel and Lodging Association. Many local residents have objected to resuming tourism in West Maui, which includes Lahaina town and a stretch of coastline to the north. Thousands of tourists staying in beachfront hotels north of the burn zone left Maui in the days after the fire. Some 11,000 hotel rooms in West Maui have since either sat empty or housed displaced Lahaina residents under a program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Red Cross. Four of the five reopening hotels were in the northernmost section of West Maui, including the Ritz-Carlton at Kapalua.

Persons: Josh Green, Green, Laura Paulson, Richard Bissen, ” Bissen, Bissen, “, ” Paulson Organizations: Maui, Lodging Association, Hawaii, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Wellness, Resilience, Ritz, Carlton Locations: HONOLULU, Maui, Lahaina, West Maui, Maui County, Paia, Maui's, Hana, Kapalua

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