Maui Fire Victims Have More Time To Opt In To Public-Private Settlement Fund
The One Ohana Fund so far has received 48 registrations from families who lost loved ones and 17 from injured survivors.
Victims of the Maui wildfires now have until June 15 to register for a settlement fund providing $1.5 million for survivors of people killed in the Aug. 8 catastrophe, Gov. Josh Green announced Wednesday.
The One Ohana Fund was established to help aid the recovery of families who lost a loved one as well as individuals who suffered severe injury in the disaster. The deadline for participating has been extended twice.
鈥淔rom the time we introduced the fund in November, our intention was to provide families with a timely option that would potentially allow healing and recovery more quickly,鈥 Green said in a news release. 鈥淭he response from the survivor community last time we extended the deadline was encouraging, and I want to respect the requests of other survivors and their counsel to have additional time to determine what is right for their families.鈥
Hawaiian Electric Co. contributed $75 milllion to the fund; the state of Hawaii $65 million; Kamehameha Schools $17.5 million; Maui County $10 million; and Charter/Spectrum, Hawaiian Telcom and West Maui Land Co. $2.5 million each.聽
The fund’s administrator, retired Hawaii Judge Ronald Ibarra, said victims and their lawyers had requested more time to opt in to the settlement.
“We all believe that this compassionate extension is aligned with the mission of the fund, to give survivors the option of seeking compensation without the risks that accompany litigation,” he said.
Since the fund began accepting applications on March 1, 2024, 48 registrations have been received from families who lost loved ones, while 17 have been submitted by injured survivors.
Civil Beat鈥檚 coverage of Maui County is supported in part by a grant from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.
