Researchers say poverty and unemployment are up in Lahaina after last year’s wildfires

Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) — A new study finds that unemployment and poverty are up and incomes are down among Maui wildfire survivors more than a year after a deadly blaze wiped out historic Lahaina. A Tuesday report by the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization said the poverty rate among survey respondents more than doubled since the August 2023 fires. Researchers say fewer than half of those who had full-time jobs in tourism still do. The report is based on survey responses from 402 people who lived, worked or owned businesses in West Maui and Kula at the time of the wildfires.