Rebuilding After The Deadly, Devastating Hawaii Wildfires Will Cost Over $5.5 Billion, FEMA Estimates

Officials have put a price tag on rebuilding communities devastated by the deadly wildfires in Hawaii, as rescuers and residents prepare for the already high death toll to climb.

Reconstructing buildings damaged by Hawaii’s wildfires in Maui County will cost over $5.5 billion, according to an estimate by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Pacific Disaster Center. 

A Saturday assessment by both agencies, cited by CNN, revealed that a total of 2,207 structures were destroyed or damaged and 2,170 acres burned because of the Lahaina Fire.

The blaze in Hawaii killed at least 80 people so far, while around 1,000 people went missing. The wildfire became the deadliest natural disaster in Hawaii since the state was established in 1959, according to CNN.

The wildfire broke out on Tuesday and raged through the Hawaiian island, pushing residents to evacuate. Multiple fires broke out on the western side of the island. 

The town of Lahaina saw the most damage, even though the fire there has been 85% contained so far.  Residents have been evacuated from the town, with one couple telling CNN that they were not allowed to go back to check up on their home on Friday. 

“The police won’t let us go to our home. We lived in the same house for 50 years since 1971,” Steve Dolan told CNN. “I wanted to go down there, see if anything’s left, but they won’t let us. We’ll deal with it and we’ll wait a week or two and we can go see what’s left and start from scratch and rebuild.”

Meanwhile, emergency crews managed to contain 100% of the fire in West Maui, according to officials. However, Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen said that the death toll “could go up.”

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden said in a statement that the Hawaiian National Guard has been deployed to mobilize Chinook Helicopters to help contain the fire and rescue residents. 

“The Army is providing Black Hawk Helicopters to fight the fires on the Big Island.  The Department of Transportation is working with commercial airlines to evacuate tourists from Maui, and the Department of the Interior and the United States Department of Agriculture stand ready to support post fire recovery efforts,” the president said.