Many are struggling to find places to rent amid a housing shortage — and steep prices — that plagued the island even before the fire wiped out an estimated 3,000 homes and apartments in Lahaina.
Tourists are returning and beginning to fill some of the rooms thus far used to house evacuees from the deadly fire. | Jae C. Hong/AP PhotoLAHAINA, Hawaii — Charles Nahale spent a restless night trying to sleep in the back seat of his pickup truck after a wildfire destroyed his home and the town of Lahaina.
The government, via the Federal Emergency Management Agency, paid for Nahale and some 8,000 other displaced residents to move into hotels, vacation rentals and other short-term housing after the Aug. 8 fire. There are still about 6,900 people in short-term lodging more than two months later. The Red Cross, whose case workers are administering FEMA’s hotel stay program, is sending Nahale to another condo unit with a kitchen, but it will only be available for 12 days. Finding a long-term rental is hard when thousands of others are also looking, he said.
The cottage belongs to a member of her extended family. She said about 30 others saw the house before her, including families of three, four and even six people. To help, FEMA has raised the rental assistance it’s offering to evacuees by 75 percent. Displaced Lahaina residents will be eligible for up to nearly $3,000 for a one bedroom. This could help plug the gap between what renters can pay and what landlords are asking — at least in the short term, Fenton said.
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