Housing | Location

How many people have been displaced by the wildfires?

The Lahaina wildfires displaced many residents, particularly in the direct burn area where almost 90% of survey respondents have been forced to leave their homes. At the one-year mark, more than half of respondents were also still displaced from West Maui. In recent months, there has been a small decrease in people who remain displaced from West Maui. Even outside this immediate burn zone, about 30% of Lahaina residents have not been able to return to their home and/or Lahaina (yet). There have been too few participants from Kula to provide a Kula-specific breakdown of displacement type over time. The fires also had a broader impact on Maui's economy. About a third of respondents from other parts of the island were displaced. For some people, this may have been because they lost their jobs or businesses in West Maui or Kula and they may have moved closer to their new work location. Many have lost income and were forced to move to less stable housing (e.g. losing homeownership or moving in with family/friends).

How long have fire-impacted people been at their current address?

Most survey respondents who lived in temporary housing one year after the fires had been at their current address for a relatively short period. Even in 2025, almost a quarter of participants have lived in their current temporary housing for less than six months, but there has been a steady reduction in short-term stays. More than 30% of respondents have been at their current place for more than a year, up from roughly 5-10% in the first three surveys. This suggests that most fire-affected individuals who are still in temporary housing have moved more than once since the wildfires. Housing instability is known to have negative impacts across all areas of life, including mental health, employment and children's education. But there has been a steady increase in the proportion of survey respondents who have been at their current temporary place for at least six months. This suggests that many fire-affected individuals have been able to stay at their current temporary housing, providing at least some degree of increased housing stability compared to before.

Where do Maui fire-impacted people live now?

More than half of respondents who lived in West Maui before the fires have returned or still live in West Maui today, and over 90% remain on island. Of the small group of respondents that relocated off-island, the majority moved to the mainland or overseas. Given the nature of the data collection, this is likely an undercount of the number of people who left Maui. Since the survey was distributed via aid providers, we were likely less successful in reaching people who have already relocated elsewhere. In addition, nearly half of fire-affected households are still in temporary housing (see Housing Conditions section for details). Those that are in less stable situations such as living with friends/family or temporary housing without assistance may have to relocate again within 1-2 years. Overall, much higher rents coupled with a slow labor market recovery will continue to place pressure on all Maui households, but particularly fire-affected ones.

For survey participants who resided in other parts of Maui (not West Maui) at the time of the fire, more than three quarters remained in the same area. Some people in Kula have lost their homes in the fires. But most people from this group who moved likely did so in response to job changes and rising housing costs. In recent months, there has also been a slight decrease in the share of people still living in the same area of Maui as before the wildfires.

Where do fire-impacted people expect to be in one year?

Most people intend to stay or return to West Maui. But since the beginning of the year there has been a 10 percentage point drop in the number of people who expect that they will still be living there in a year’s time, compared to respondents’ expectations in the second half of 2024 when almost everyone expected to remain in West Maui. In addition, about 1 in 3 of those who live in other parts of Maui also expect to return to West Maui next year. Public officials have acknowledged that rebuilding permanent housing in the burn area may take several years. While roughly 700 temporary housing units are nearing completion, our data provides further evidence that they may not be enough to house residents who wish to stay or return to (West) Maui.