Whenever people talk about the fires that took place in Maui on Aug. 8, there is often a lot of speculation about who caused them, and anger that they happened. These emotions sometimes cause people to focus on the fires themselves and lead them to forget about the people in Maui that are still grappling with the aftermath of the fire.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, the fire in Lahaina was the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. It also stands as the fifth most deadly fire in all of U.S history. Maui County officials estimate that 80% of the structures in Lahaina have been damaged or destroyed.
Amidst all the destruction, some realtors and investors saw an opportunity to profit.
According to Zillow, the average cost of a home in Maui is more than a million dollars. This means that victims of the Lahaina fire who opt to sell their burnt land would make far from enough to be able to replace and rebuild. The prospect of rebuilding is even more unlikely considering the fact that some investors are only offering a measly $100,000 for affected land, according to some Maui residents, including realtor Ashley Correa, who spoke to NewsNation.
Even though these offers are low, desperate fire victims may resort to selling their land in fear that they will not be able to pay for a place to stay otherwise.
In a press conference on Aug. 14, Governor Josh Green mentioned his hope to issue a housing moratorium to prevent greedy investors from acquiring land from affected Lahaina residents. A blanket ban over all housing sales ultimately did not go into place because of worries about constitutionality. Nonetheless, I think it was a good step towards trying to discourage investors from trying to take advantage of vulnerable Lahaina residents. But I find it disappointing that this is an issue Maui fire survivors even have to worry about.
Research has found that housing recovery is directly linked to economic recovery. If employees don’t have a place to stay, they can’t go to work, and companies will not be able to function. Maui residents are still in a limbo. They don’t want to stay in another area to live. This means West Maui community will suffer.
Fortunately, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been working to help them recover. According to AP News, FEMA has paid out $5.6 million dollars to assist Maui residents, which includes a one-time payment of $700 for immediate needs and temporary housing in hotels and motels. FEMA is also offering up to $500,000 for home repairing or replacing.
This is all great news for disaster survivors, but it may still take a long time for benefits to come in or for rebuilding to begin. In the meantime, a resident may decide they want to sell their land. For this reason, I think a new civil law should be introduced that would ban offers significantly below market value while still allowing landowners to put their land on sale if they want to. This would protect the disaster victims while still granting them autonomy.
A combination of a new law and simple regard for those who are in difficult situations will make it so that Maui residents will stop having to worry about predatory investors taking advantage of their land. And if Lahaina residents no longer have to worry about this, then victims of future natural disasters in other parts of Hawaii won’t have to worry either.
