Maui residents are rebuilding Lahaina for locals, not tourists: ‘In Hawaii, we take care of one another’

After deadly 2023 fires, recent storms and ICE raids, Lahaina residents are determined to rebuild the town for their community In March, Hawaii was hit with two back-to-back storms, bringing the worst flooding it’s seen in 20 years. In Lahaina, Maui, muddy flood waters turned streets into rivers and carved new paths through the barren landscape, breaking open roads and flooding houses. In their wake, sinkholes appeared, engulfing cars. This is nearly three years after the deadliest wildfires in US history ravaged Lahaina, destroying more than 2,000 structures and killing more than 100 people. Hundreds of affected households are still in temporary housing. Poverty, unemployment and housing instability, rife before the fires, have only worsened. “So many people were hanging on by a thread as it is,” said Paele Kiakona, an organizer with the grassroots group Lahaina Strong. And yet, organizers and residents remain determined to protect Lahaina from further climate crises and to rebuild the town for their community – not for tourists. Some, like Kaiāulu Initiatives, are planting acres of native plants to restore the land that was fallowed by decades of water diversion, making