Maui County

Officials released their report on the cause and origin of last year’s deadly Maui wildfires this week. HPR’s Catherine Cluett Pactol spoke with community members to hear their reactions to the findings.

While the community has been waiting over a year for answers from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Maui County about the cause and origin of the Lahaina fire, the results aren't surprising. The fire erupted from an earlier brushfire, sparked by downed power lines, that firefighters believed they had extinguished, officials said. HPR's Ashley Mizuo reports on what comes next.

The wildfire that killed at least 102 people on Maui last year erupted from an earlier brushfire that firefighters believed they had extinguished, officials said Wednesday as they presented their findings on the cause.

The Hawaiʻi Supreme Court will consider questions about issues that threaten to thwart a $4 billion settlement in last year's devastating Maui wildfires. A Maui judge last month agreed to ask the state high court questions about how insurance companies can go about recouping money paid to policyholders.

The county had leased the land since the 1950s, and it will now be held for public use in perpetuity.

The debris and ash that remained after a deadly wildfire last year decimated a historic Maui town now sits in a temporary dump site. A controversy over whether that site is truly temporary — and over where the debris might finally wind up — has sparked a legal fight.

What worked? What didn’t? U.S. lawmakers heard feedback from officials and community members about the federal response to the Maui wildfires. Looking to the future was a key theme of the hearing. HPR’s Catherine Cluett Pactol reports.

Gov. Josh Green says the parties in Lahaina wildfire lawsuits against Hawaiʻi, Maui County and utilities are close to a global settlement of claims that will be worth a little over $4 billion.

A county proposal to phase out about half of Maui's legal short-term rentals will move forward after getting support from the Maui Planning Commission, which voted unanimously to recommend Maui County Council pass the ordinance.

Some Kula residents are dealing with extensive road damages they say were caused by heavy equipment from the federal fire debris cleanup. HPR’s Catherine Cluett Pactol reports on the continued issues following the Aug. 8 wildfire.