The home of Lahaina resident Valerie Hoʻopai is bright and airy. It’s decorated with photos of her husband and daughter, and her small dog, Milo, talks excitedly in greeting.
“It feels wonderful that I can do what I want. I can plant what I want to plant, and inside the house I can decorate it the way I want to. It's just magnificent, comfortable, peaceful.”
That’s how Hoʻopai describes her newly rebuilt home in Lahaina.
But before this, came tremendous loss.
“Within 10 years, I lost my husband, my house, my daughter,” she said.
Growing up, Hoʻopai’s dad worked at Baldwin Packers, which later became Maui Land and Pineapple Company, and they lived in the Kalapua area.
Hoʻopai and her husband bought their Lahaina home in 1974.
In 2019, he passed away. Then, four years later, the wildfire destroyed their home. She and her adult daughter lived temporarily in Kula while Hoʻopai tried to figure out how to rebuild.
She got connected with Hoʻōla iā Mauiakama Disaster Long Term Recovery Group, Mennonite Disaster Service, Cajudoy Construction,ax and Lahaina Community Land Trust, just a few of the partners that are working together to rebuild homes burned in the wildfire at little to no cost.
Ho’opai is one of a handful of qualifying fire survivors to date whose homes have been rebuilt with their help. More are planned for this year and next year.
“Nobody knows what it feels like until you know you find organizations like this to help with your recovery,” she said. “Because really I didn't know what to do. I was underinsured, and I heard so much stories about contractors that were ripping people off.”
Originally, she had dreamed of living there with her daughter. But as they were beginning the rebuild process, Ho’opai again suffered unimaginable loss.
“After my daughter died in March of 2025, unexpectedly, everything went downhill for me,” she said. “I never realized that I would have been losing my only child and I didn't have any immediate family, except for Milo.”
Hoʻopai stayed with family on Oʻahu for about a year, and moved into her home in June.
She said she knew what the outside of her home looked like, but walking in for the first time was unexpected.
“What I was surprised is stepping into the house … it was fully furnished by Hoʻōla,” she said with gratitude. Hers was the first home to receive Hoʻōla’s House to Home Program benefits, which provide living essentials, furniture and household supplies for those transitioning into their newly rebuilt homes.
One stipulation of the rebuild partnership program is that if she sells, the home goes to a local family at an affordable price.
“This is because a lot of people from outside of Hawaiʻi want to buy, and they buy it for outrageous price, while our local families cannot afford it,” she explained.
Hoʻopai said this might deter some families from using the help of the program, but for her, she already planned to pass her home down to ʻohana.
She said her 11-year-old pup has kept her going.
“We keep each other company. Shall we sing?” she asked Milo, who whined enthusiastically, fluffy tail wagging. “I love you. You love me. We're a happy family,” she sang, as he howled.
She gazed out over the Lahaina oceanfront below her house.
“My husband and daughter's ashes were scattered by Canoe Beach,” she said. “I just like to think they're out here somewhere in front of the house, because the current goes down this side. So I like to think they're just out there and looking after us.”
“I think the fires have changed a lot of people in the world in Lahaina,” Ho’opai said. “A lot of sadness, a lot of uncertainty.”
But Ho’opai said she can’t dwell on her grief. She feels grateful for those who helped get her and Milo back home.
“The feeling that I have is indescribable. It's magic. It's love. It's everything. Everything that you can think of.”
