Hawaii鈥檚 governor vowed to protect local landowners from being 鈥渧ictimized鈥� by opportunistic buyers when Maui rebuilds from deadly wildfires that incinerated a and killed more than 100 people.
Gov. Josh Green said Wednesday that he instructed the state attorney general to work toward a moratorium on land transactions in Lahaina, even as he acknowledged the move would likely face legal challenges.
鈥淢y intention from start to finish is to make sure that no one is victimized from a land grab,鈥� Green said at a news conference. 鈥淧eople are right now traumatized. Please do not approach them with an offer to buy their land. Do not approach their families saying they鈥檒l be much better off if they make a deal. Because we鈥檙e not going to allow it.鈥�
Since flames consumed much of Lahaina just over week ago, locals have feared that a rebuilt town could become even more , according to Lahaina native Richy Palalay.
Hotels and condos 鈥渢hat we can鈥檛 afford to live in 鈥� that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e afraid of,鈥� he said Saturday at a shelter for evacuees.
As on Wednesday, the head of the Maui Emergency Management Agency defended not sounding sirens during the fire. Hawaii has what it touts as the largest system of outdoor alert sirens in the world, created that killed more than 150 on the Big Island.
鈥淲e were afraid that people would have gone mauka,鈥� said agency administrator Herman Andaya, using a navigational term that can mean toward the mountains or inland in Hawaiian. 鈥淚f that was the case, then they would have gone into the fire.鈥�
Avery Dagupion, whose family鈥檚 home was destroyed, said he鈥檚 angry that residents weren鈥檛 given earlier warning to get out.
He pointed to an announcement by Maui Mayor Richard Bissen on Aug. 8 saying the fire had been contained. That lulled people into a sense of safety and left him distrusting officials, he said.
At the news conference, Green and Bissen bristled when asked about such criticism.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 answer why people don鈥檛 trust people,鈥� Bissen said. 鈥淭he people who were trying to put out these fires lived in those homes 鈥� 25 of our firefighters lost their homes. You think they were doing a halfway job?鈥�
The cause of the wildfires, the in more than a century, is under investigation. But Hawaii is increasingly at risk from disasters, with wildfire rising fastest, according to an .
As the island begins to think about rebuilding, Green vowed to prevent land grabs. He said he would announce details of the moratorium by Friday, adding that he also wants to see a long-term moratorium on sales of land that won鈥檛 鈥渂enefit local people.鈥�
Many in Lahaina struggled to afford life in Hawaii before the fire. Statewide, a typical starter home costs over $1 million, while the average renter pays 42% of their income for housing, according to a Forbes Housing analysis. That鈥檚 the highest ratio in the country by a wide margin.
The 2020 census found more native Hawaiians than the islands for the first time in history, driven in part by a search for cheaper housing.
Green made affordable housing a priority when he entered office in January, appointing a czar for the issue and seeking $1 billion for housing programs. Since the fires, he鈥檚 also suggested acquiring land in Lahaina for the state to build workforce housing as well as a memorial.
Meanwhile, signs of recovery emerged as public schools across Maui reopened, welcoming displaced students from Lahaina, and traffic resumed on a major road.
Sacred Hearts School in Lahaina was destroyed, and Principal Tonata Lolesio said lessons would resume in the coming weeks at another Catholic school. She said it was important for students to be with their friends and teachers, and not constantly thinking about the tragedy.
鈥淚鈥檓 hoping to at least try to get some normalcy or get them in a room where they can continue to learn or just be in another environment where they can take their minds off of that,鈥� she said.
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