Our focus, love, and aloha are with the island of Maui. Understandably, the island is in crisis management mode given the magnitude of the devastation after the fires.

We know many of you love Maui and have long-awaited plans to visit. You are asking questions about what to do in the short term, how long this crisis could endure, and how much it does and will impact other parts of Maui in the future. Good question but few answers today. Here’s what we know for now; we will continue updating this information.

First, Maui, in many ways, has one very limited infrastructure. So to look at the fires as being isolated to Lahaina, for example, doesn’t deal with that fact. Examples are medical care, service providers, first responders, other services and much more. That infrastructure is responsible for the entire island and simply needs time to recover and reset.

Second, the island and state need time to assess the damage after the fires are contained in order to find out how quickly to move forward. Tourism is vital to Maui, and most hotels and condos were not damaged.

Our suggestions on how to plan Maui vacations in the short term.

If you have a Maui trip planned after August, including Kaanapali resorts on West Maui, we suggest you consider keeping those plans for now, as more will be revealed over the next few weeks. Most of Maui is accessible, and it’s a matter of getting infrastructure normalized in order to receive visitors.

If you have trip plans in August after next week for West Maui (Kaanapali), we suggest checking with your airline and hotel about cancellation policies since the State of Hawaii is asking visitors not to come. If you are staying elsewhere on Maui, for example, Wailea or Kihei, check directly with the property.

Airbnb and VRBO have different policies in place. “Parts of Maui” are covered by Airbnb for full refunds. VRBO is letting hosts cancel without impacting their ratings, but again, it’s up to the host to decide. Let us know what you are finding.

How long will the crisis endure in West Maui?

Lahaina will need to be rebuilt. That leaves the Kaanapali resort area with Kihei as its nearest town, an hour away. We hear reports that the famous Banyan tree in Lahaina was severely burned but may survive, which also stands as a testament to the strength of Maui and her people.

Kaanapali resorts are standing, but the road to them is closed, and those evacuated had to leave their rental cars and personal belongings behind, which will take a while to sort out logistically. Power needs to be restored to West Maui, and complete cell phone coverage too, which right now is minimal (although we have been able to reach people as of this morning). We are also wondering if some hotel rooms will be needed by residents who lost their homes. Again, this all needs time to get sorted out.

We spoke with a friend in Lahaina today whose home burned down.

He lost his residence of thirty years while he and his wife barely escaped as the house burned. Police had told him they did not believe there would be any problem, and they were not prepared when the gusts of 80+ miles per hour changed directions. He is now sleeping in his car while his wife was hospitalized. Many other stories like this are being told, which adds a personal face to the tragedy.

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