Maui, Hawaii
Hawaii Wildfire Relief
August 2023 – March 2025
AHAH is supporting wildfire recovery in Maui through debris removal, home repairs, and community rebuilding after devastating wildfires in 2023.
Disaster Profile
Communities Facing Unprecedented Loss After the Hawaii Wildfires
High winds caused by Hurricane Dora, low humidity and a high-pressure system created terrible fire conditions in Hawaii, igniting multiple wildfires in August 2023. The wildfires have left towns in ruins, and with the death toll at 115, they mark the deadliest wildfires in the U.S. in over a century. The estimated damage totals approximately $5.6 billion, with over 2,200 structures destroyed. Of these, 86% were residential, leaving 4,500 people internally displaced and temporarily relocated to hotels for shelter.
Our Response
Providing Relief Resource Distribution and Debris Removal in Hawaii
After being contacted by Hawaii VOAD, AHAH first provided remote support by coordinating volunteers and ensuring housing and essential resources for wildfire evacuees. Once on the ground in Lahaina, our team shifted to meet long-term recovery needs, partnering with local organizations to support resource distribution, prepare meals and uphold community-led solutions every step of the way.
Our final initiative focused on ineligible debris removal, helping property owners clear the remnants left behind by the wildfires: work often overlooked but critical to rebuilding. Though our time on Maui has ended, the impact continues. With funding from our partner GlobalGiving, local nonprofit Native Hawaiian Philanthropy has taken over our work queues to continue providing this service for as long as Maui needs to rebuild. We trained their team in assessments, queue management and project execution to ensure they have the tools and capacity to carry this work forward.
Community Member Spotlight
Kaipo on the Power of Volunteering
Kaipo Kekona is a Maui resident and Lahaina local supporting his community through his steadfast contributions to Nāpili Noho. Nāpili Noho is a community hub initiated by Lahainan families to support those impacted by wildfires. What began as a small operation of “families helping families” in Nāpili Park has evolved into a large, vital resource distribution and essential services center involving new daily teams of volunteers. The day after the fire’s devastation in Lahaina, Kaipo knew he had to help his neighbors in need. He wasted no time in harvesting his farm’s crops and cooking meals out of his home. Together with his family, they served their community over 160 meals that day.
