Housing | Conditions

Do fire-impacted people live in permanent or temporary housing?

Nearly a year and a half after the fires, the share of survey respondents still living in temporary housing has declined slightly to near 45%, down from a peak of 51% in the September/October 2024 surveys. In the last few months, the share of people who do not have their own home at all (i.e. living with friends, family, or being unhoused) sits around 6%. Housing instability is a risk factor for many negative health and life outcomes. It may weaken education, employment and physical and mental health. But there appears to have been a slight improvement in the last few months. Meanwhile, between 15 and 25% have moved into a permanent new home and recent data suggests an upward trend. Approximately a quarter of respondents still live in the same house as before the fires.

What types of temporary housing do fire-impacted people live in?

About 1-3% of survey respondents report that they still live in a hotel. Additionally, almost a quarter are in temporary housing without assistance and about 12% are staying with family and friends or are currently unhoused. The largest share of displaced residents are living in other types of temporary housing and receive some form of assistance, either from FEMA, the State of Hawai‘i, or community organizations. This data shows that nearly a year and a half after the fires, there is still a significant gap in housing assistance, which would only grow if FEMA funding is reduced or eliminated in the next 4 years.

Do fire-impacted people live in crowded conditions?

Many displaced residents are now living with family, friends, or in smaller accommodations than they had before the fire. As a result, respondents may be more likely to live in crowded conditions. Depending on the definition of crowding used, crowding may be affecting between 17% and 45% of fire-impacted people. Given larger and multigenerational households are more common in Hawaiʻi for both cultural and economic reasons, the lower estimates based on the Canadian standard might be a more appropriate crowding measure in the Hawaiʻi context. However, this is still concerning, especially since it appears that crowding has continued to edge upwards since August 2024. Crowding is linked to health issues, such as the spread of infectious diseases and mental health problems. It has also been shown that crowding is associated with lower educational outcomes for children.