Hawaii says 30 Lahaina fire survivors are moving into housing daily but 3,000 are still in hotels

HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said Wednesday some 3,000 people displaced by Lahaina's wildfires are still living in hotels more than seven months after the August blaze but that up to 30 people are moving to longer-term housing each day.

Green told a news conference the state and federal government have lined up sufficient long-term rental units to shelter everyone who is currently in one of 11 hotels still housing survivors. The state and federal governments are also building some modular transitional housing units for displaced residents. Green said he expects all displaced residents will leave the hotels by July 1.

Nearly 8,000 Lahaina residents were living in 40 hotels in the days immediately after the fire.

Maui has a severe housing shortage. In West Maui, much of the housing that does exist has been used as vacation rentals for tourists. In December, Green threatened to use the “hammer” of emergency orders to impose a moratorium on Maui short-term rentals if enough property owners didn't make their units available to Lahaina residents.

But Green said Wednesday such a moratorium won't be necessary. He said the state has contracts for 1,300 units and that the number of households in hotels has dropped to under 1,300.

One issue now, Green said, is that many available rentals are not in West Maui, and some Lahaina residents have refused them because they want to stay near their jobs and their children's schools.

“A lot of people have been offered an apartment, housing, and have rejected it because it’s too far away from West Maui, or it didn’t suit their family circumstance,” Green said.

Green said people are being given four opportunities to accept housing that is offered and two chances to appeal an option provided. He said some people have rejected...