LAHAINA (HawaiiNewsNow) – A small community is now forming on grounds that were once empty by FEMA housing project.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) says it has completed the final modular home at the Kilohana group housing site just off Fleming Road. It’s a temporary group housing site that offers wildfire survivors an opportunity to move back to Lahaina.
FEMA brought in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to design and prepare the site, which took 13 months to complete. A total of 167 temporary homes are ready for occupation, the agency said. The project started in October 2023, a few weeks after the August 2023 Lahaina wildfire. Officials said that the land was vacant and rocky, and blasting was needed to install streets and essential infrastructure such as utilities, water, and sewer services.
“It couldn’t have been done without everyone working together, being creative and solving problems,” said Forrest Lanning, FEMA’s joint housing task force leader. “This was a completely new type of housing project for FEMA, and we all had to be flexible to learn new things and get it done.”
One-, two-, and three-bedroom modular units were built in the continental U.S. and shipped to Maui. The first shipment arrived last October, and survivors started moving in on Nov. 22, 2024. Each unit has basic furnishings, and some have accommodations for residents with access and functional needs the agency said.
The temporary homes have been built to last 30 years and meet the International Building Code and local amendments. Kilohana is next to a state temporary housing project, Ka Lai Ola, which provides 450 units to displaced individuals and families by the wildfires.
