Insurance rates rising as climate change makes wildfires, storms more common
NEW YORK — A growing number of Americans are finding it difficult to afford insurance on their homes, a problem only expected to worsen because insurers and lawmakers have underestimated the impact of climate change, a new report says.
Officials say DNA tests drop Maui fire death count to 97
WAILUKU, Hawaii (AP) — Authorities in Hawaii have adjusted the number of deaths from the deadly Maui wildfire down to at least 97 people.
The Maui Invitational is relocating to Honolulu
The Maui Invitational will be held in Honolulu this year because of the wildfires that devastated Lahaina, where the tournament usually is played.
Lahaina residents, business owners can take supervised visits to properties later this month
WAILUKU — Maui authorities said Thursday they are planning to start letting residents and business owners make escorted visits to their properties in the restricted Lahaina Wildfire Disaster area later this month.
Health officials warn vog has returned during latest eruption
HONOLULU — The latest eruption of a Hawaii volcano isn’t threatening any infrastructure but health officials are warning the public about air-quality hazards from volcanic smog known as vog.
Volcano alert level downgraded after latest Kīlauea eruption
HONOLULU — The alert level on Kīlauea, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, was downgraded Monday with no infrastructure threatened and no threat of significant ash emission into the atmosphere outside a limited area within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.
Lahaina’s fire-stricken Filipino residents are key to tourism, local culture. Will they stay?
LAHAINA — Ambulance and fire truck sirens wailed outside as Elsie Rosales stripped linens from king-sized mattresses at a beachfront resort in Lahaina.
Kilauea erupts after nearly two months of quiet
HONOLULU — Kilauea, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, began erupting Sunday after a two-month pause, displaying glowing lava that is a safe distance from people and structures in a national park on the Big Island.
By proclamation West Maui will welcome back visitors next month
HONOLULU — Most of West Maui will officially reopen to travelers Oct. 8 under a new wildfire emergency proclamation signed on Friday by Hawai‘i Gov. Josh Green.
Things to know about aid, lawsuits and tourism nearly a month after fire leveled a Hawaii community
HONOLULU — Nearly a month after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century killed at least 115 people, authorities on Maui are working their way through a list of the missing that has grown almost as quickly as names have been removed.
Lawyers claim cable TV, phone companies are also responsible in Maui fires
HONOLULU — After a visit to a warehouse where Hawaiian Electric Company is housing power poles and electrical equipment that may be key to the investigation of last month’s devastating fires on Maui, lawyers for Lahaina residents and business owners told a court Tuesday that cable TV and telephone companies share responsibility for the disaster because they allegedly overloaded and destabilized some of the poles.
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Gov. Josh Green says number missing could drop to fewer than 100
HONOLULU — The number of people listed as missing from Maui’s devastating wildfire could drop from nearly 400 to fewer than 100 when authorities provide an update Friday on their efforts to locate them, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said.
Exhibition hoops game to benefit Maui wildfire charity
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State and Tennessee will meet in an exhibition basketball game to raise money for relief efforts in the aftermath of the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century.
Winds, low humidity raise risk of fires in Hawai‘i
HONOLULU — The National Weather Service on Wednesday warned gusty winds and low humidity have increased the risk that fires could spread rapidly in the western parts of each Hawaiian island, three weeks after a deadly blaze tore through a coastal Maui town during a similar alert.
Oprah Winfrey, Dwayne Johnson launch fund for displaced Maui residents
Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne Johnson have committed $10 million to make direct payments to people on Maui who are unable to return to their homes because of the wildfires, through a new fund they announced Thursday.
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Unclear how many in Lahaina lost lives as authorities near the end of search
HONOLULU — Crews in Hawaii have all but finished searching for victims of the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century, authorities said Tuesday, and it is unclear how many people perished.
Utility takes responsibility for first Maui fire, faults firefighters
HONOLULU — Hawaii’s electric utility acknowledged its power lines started a wildfire on Maui but faulted county firefighters for declaring the blaze contained and leaving the scene, only to have a second wildfire break out nearby and become the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century.
Hawai‘i’s cherished notion of family, the ohana, endures in tragedy’s aftermath
LAHAINA, Hawai‘i — Families were torn asunder. A community is reeling with grief. More than 100 people have perished and hundreds more remain missing after flames and smoke barreled from the hills and annihilated the historic town of Lahaina.
Bare electrical wire, leaning poles were possible cause of deadly Maui fires
In the first moments of the Maui fires, when high winds brought down power poles, slapping electrified wires to the dry grass below, there was a reason the flames erupted all at once in long, neat rows — those wires were bare, uninsulated metal that could spark on contact.
Maui brush fire prompts evacuations near Lahaina
LAHAINA, Hawai‘i — A brush fire burned 10 acres (4 hectares) on Saturday and prompted Maui authorities to evacuate residents from a neighborhood of Lahaina, just a few miles from the site recently ravaged by blazes, before firefighters brought it under control.