It’s been one year since four fires devastated the Valley Isle.

The Maui Wildfires Were Massive. These Numbers Help Us Comprehend Them

It’s been one year since four fires devastated the Valley Isle.

Civil Beat logo with Maui island silhouette
In a series of stories this week, Civil Beat is reflecting on what’s happened in the year since wildfires swept through Maui and what’s ahead for the island and its people.

The Maui wildfires generated an overwhelming amount of data.

Numbers were one of the earliest byproducts of the disaster — a way to measure the human, economic and environmental toll of an overwhelming event. Many of the numbers below are indicators of the progress of rebuilding and recovery.

6,693

Total number of acres burned on Maui in the four wildfires Aug. 8, 2023. There were 3,240 acres burned in South Maui, 2,170 acres in Lahaina and 1,283 acres in Upcountry.

EV Electric car charging at Ala Moana Shopping Center.
Firefighters battled four fires Aug. 8 on Maui, which ultimately scorched nearly 7,000 acres. (Maui Police Department)
EV Electric car charging at Ala Moana Shopping Center.
This map of Lahaina shows the damage to buildings (in red) caused by the wildfires of Aug. 8, 2023. (Airbus Imagery distributed through Skywatch)

3,312

Number of properties impacted by the Maui wildfires Aug. 8, 2023.

  • 65% – Percentage of properties in Lahaina impacted by the wildfires.
  • 1,369 – Number of residential Lahaina properties cleared under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Consolidated Debris Removal Program out of 1,399, as of July 31.
  • 69 – Number of commercial properties cleared out of 159 total, as of July 31.
  • 17 – Total length in miles of sewer lines inspected in Lahaina.
  • 27 – Total sales of all properties in Lahaina Town since Aug. 8, 2023.
  • Zero – The number of commercial building permits for Lahaina issued or pending.

135

Number of residential building permits for Lahaina issued or pending.

EV Electric car charging at Ala Moana Shopping Center.
Gene Milne was the first property owner in the 5-square-mile Lahaina burn zone to begin rebuilding his home. (Cammy Clark/Civil Beat/2024)
EV Electric car charging at Ala Moana Shopping Center.
Residential and commercial property damage has topped $3 billion. (Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2023)

$3.29 billion

Estimated losses in Hawaii for wind and wildfire damage.

  • $2.34 billion – Losses paid for claims for wind and wildfire damage reported by more than 200 insurers as of June 30.
  • 649 – Number of lawsuits filed against Hawaiian Electric Industries, Maui County and others due to the wildfires as of Aug. 2.
  • $4.04 billion – Amount of the global settlement announced Aug. 2 to resolve 450 of the lawsuits filed by individuals, businesses and insurance companies for the Lahaina and Upcountry fires.

A third

At least 40 of the 102 wildfire victims identified in Lahaina died on or near Kuhua Street, a narrow road in the heart of town.

  • 47 – Number of death or personal injury claims received by the state’s Maui Wildfire Compensation Fund.
  • $367 million – Total value of U.S. Small Business Administration loans for disaster assistance and economic injury related to the Maui wildfires.
  • $109.4 million – Amount distributed to all organizations from the Hawaii Community Foundation’s Maui Strong Fund. The fund has collected more than $195 million, including interest.
EV Electric car charging at Ala Moana Shopping Center.
(Nathan Eagle/Civil Beat/2023)

57.4%

Drop in the stock value of Hawaiian Electric Industries in the year since the wildfires.

  • 13% – Potential increase in Maui’s long-term housing supply through the elimination of 6,172 transient vacation rentals.
  • 32% – The percentage of Lahaina residents born overseas — more than twice the state average.
  • 17 years – Median length of time that immigrant residents of Lahaina have lived on Maui.
  • $2,000 – Median monthly income of an immigrant household on Maui.
  • $2,454 – Median monthly rent for a one-bedroom rental on Maui, not including short-term rentals.

$500,000

Amount of county money allocated for observance events marking the first anniversary of the Lahaina wildfire.

EV Electric car charging at Ala Moana Shopping Center.
Donna Gomes is one of the many fire victims memorialized along the Lahaina bypass. (Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2023)
  • 1,000 – The number of students dropped from the school rolls in Lahaina since the wildfire.
  • 111 – Number of recommendations contained in the Maui Fire Department’s wildfire after-action report. Six have been implemented so far, others are underway.
  • 32 – Number of recommendations contained in the Maui Police Department’s wildfire after-action report. Six have been implemented so far, others are underway.

Civil Beat’s coverage of Maui County is supported in part by a grant from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.

Civil Beat’s coverage of environmental issues on Maui is supported by grants from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy and the Hawaii Wildfires Recovery Fund, the Knight Foundation and the Doris Duke Foundation.

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