Will Maui Lose Another Town to Fire?  300ac Grassfire Starts at Homeless Drug Addict camp--40th fire this year to threaten Paia 

HNN Sept 23 2025: … At 6 p.m. Tuesday, the Maui Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) lifted all evacuation orders and warnings related to a fast-moving brush fire in Paia.

The fire was first reported at 1:30 p.m., burning four acres near Holomua Road and Baldwin Avenue.

Its size was estimated at 300 acres as of 5:30 p.m. and fire progress has been stopped, officials said. Containment estimates were not available.

(CLUE: None of today’s news coverage mentions the homeless drug addict camp at the ignition point.  The Holomua Tweeker Camp has been the source of dozens of wildfires this year.  It is inhumane to the homeless to allow them to refuse shelter.  Will Maui lose ANOTHER town due to this type of addiction-enabling ‘progressivism’?)

Evacuation orders and warnings were issued shortly after 2 p.m. for multiple areas due to the fire’s smoke and proximity….

MN: Pāʻia Elementary School to be closed on Wednesday due to impacts from Holomua fire : Maui Now

read … Evacuations lifted on Maui as crews battle 300-acre brush fire

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Maui Compromises Fire Safety with ‘Politically Correct’ Homeless Policy

CB Sept 23 2025: … Holomua Road bisects miles of dry, overgrown cattle pasture just east of downtown Pāʻia. Parched trees with twisted limbs line the way and form a sort of tunnel that feels separate from the outside world. 

For years, a homeless population has called this spot home, parking their cars, pitching tents and building unofficial shelters out of various scrap materials along the road’s shoulder. 

(CLUE: This was written hours before the latest fire.  But after and during the fire, there was ZERO mention of the Holomua Rd homeless in any of the coverage.  Are they OK?  Did they burn themselves out?)

Area residents have long complained about the encampment’s presence, arguing it is a fire hazard that puts the entire community at risk. A brushfire on Holomua Road could quickly spread west and wreak havoc on Pāʻia, a former plantation town known for its narrow streets, quaint small businesses and old wooden buildings….

The county has been trying to balance its efforts to address these fire safety concerns with the need to be more compassionate in how it sweeps homeless encampments following a 2023 Hawai‘i Supreme Court decision that found the county violated individual rights when it forcibly cleared a Kahului encampment in 2021. It’s an ongoing process, Maui Emergency Management Agency Administrator Amos Lonokailua-Hewett said.

“I care about the people that are unsheltered,” he said, explaining that he has family members who lost homes in the 2023 fires and are homeless. “I can also say that nobody in this community has the right to burn down the land and destroy communities, whether they’re unsheltered or anybody else.”

(CLUE:  If we really cared about the homeless, we would FORCE them into shelters.)

read … Maui Balances Compassion With Fire Safety In Homeless Encampment Sweeps - Honolulu Civil Beat

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Fire Every Three Days:  Fire Department Says Homeless Arsonists Threaten to Torch Paia

CB June 24 2025: … It is now illegal 24/7 to park or drive on the upper, rocky portion of Holomua Road. And on the lower paved portion — where the homeless community lives between Hana Highway and the old Maui High School — the prohibition on parking and driving runs daily from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Exceptions are for emergency vehicles and people who work or conduct business at the high school property.

There was a public outcry to do something after Maui firefighters said in a public meeting in early April that due to prevailing winds, and the surrounding open land, a fire that gets out of control from the road could spread quickly and present a major threat to Paia Town. There were nearly 40 fires along Holomua from January through April, and the fire department said Friday there have been more fires since then.

(That’s one fire every three days.)

So far, the new ordinance is not being strictly enforced. The Maui Police Department said in an email Thursday there will be “no sweeps” of the camps.

No gates have been put up yet to prevent traffic on the upper portion of the road, which begins at the intersection with Baldwin Avenue. And no signs have been put up anywhere along the road about the restrictions….

read … Kawaakoa Is On A Mission To Make The Homeless Population On Holomua Road Part Of The Solution - Honolulu Civil Beat

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FEMA Approves Fire Management Assistance Grant for Holomua Fire in Maui

FEMA News Release #R9-NR-25-17, September 24, 2025

OAKLAND, Calif. – The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Region 9 Administrator authorized the use of federal funds to assist the State of Hawaii in combating the Holomua Fire burning in Maui County.  

On September 23, the State of Hawaii submitted a request for a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) for the Holomua Fire. At the time of the request, the fire was threatening approximately 364 homes in and around Paia on Maui. Mandatory evacuations had taken place for approximately 1,672 people. The fire began on September 23 and had already burned more than 200 acres. 

FMAGs provide federal funding for up to 75 percent of eligible firefighting costs. FMAGs are approved through FEMA to assist in fighting fires that threaten to become major disasters.

Eligible costs covered by FMAGs can include expenses for field camps, equipment use, materials, supplies and mobilization, and demobilization activities attributed to fighting the fire. For more information on FMAGs, visit fema.gov/assistance/public/fire-management-assistance.