Today, a portion of West Maui officially opens to tourism, exactly two months after fire raged through Lahaina. A small number of tourists are expected to arrive in this first stage of a “manageable reopening” shaped by Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen and an advisory team.

The reopening affects an area of West Maui that’s miles northwest of the Lahaina fire zone, but has been connected to turbulence within the shelter programs offered to displaced residents. Some hotel rooms sheltering fire victims transitioned back to short-term use, requiring households to relocate. Separately, hundreds of displaced people housed in hotel rooms throughout West Maui faced lockouts in recent days because they had not submitted required paperwork with agencies funding housing programs.

Maui County’s priority is and must be the well-being of residents affected by the Aug. 8 fire — so going forward, care must be taken to provide safe, stable and adequate shelter and smooth transitions for all in need in the months to come.

“Our goal is to introduce a phased approach that … allows for housing needs to be clearly addressed,” Bissen said, in announcing the gradual reopening. The county and state must hold fast to that goal, securing shelter for the displaced with minimal disruption as reopening continues.

Gov. Josh Green has assured residents that continued secure housing will be a prerequisite to any future hotel reopenings. “We won’t displace individuals who are currently in hotels or other Airbnbs or other housing to accommodate anyone,” Green said at a Sept. 21 news conference. However, sheltered residents will, in many cases, need to transition from hotel rooms to other stable housing, and will need help navigating these changes.

Providing more time for the fire-affected to seek aid, FEMA has extended its deadline, to Nov. 9, to apply for personal help with damage incurred from the Maui wildfires. FEMA and Red Cross representatives at hotel sites and community centers continue to provide one-on-one access to aid applications and resources, and should maintain this presence as long as the need exists.

Federal, state and county officials have also been pursuing a variety of options to identify, open or create housing apart from hotel rooms. One of these is the soliciting of short-term rental operators — those offering rooms through Airbnb and the like — to open their properties to the displaced.

Officials have estimated that overall, there are enough short-term rental units across Maui to shelter all of those displaced by the Lahaina fire. Given that, it’s crucial that short-term rental providers on Maui participate in these programs. While owners might not profit as lucratively as with short-term rental to tourists, this can benefit and speed Maui’s recovery, by helping its community members to heal. Stabilization will bolster Maui’s tourism industry in the long run.

FEMA funds pay to lease ready-to-occupy residential properties. Additionally, the state’s Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp. has set up a Hawaii Fire Relief Housing Program to connect those needing housing with homeowners willing to offer rooms, units or houses, and will assist property owners who step up with connecting to FEMA funding. Find details at dbedt.hawaii.gov/hhfdc.

Insured homeowners who were displaced by the Lahaina fire should have access to funds that will help with obtaining stable shelter. However, many have faced problems because insurance adjusters have not been able to access properties. In the wake of a state Senate field hearing at which such insurance problems came to light, the state’s Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and Maui County officials should redouble efforts to provide necessary access and get these households the urgent help they need.

Displaced residents who hail from Compact of Free Association (COFA) nations — Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau — have special concerns. They have aid hurdles similar to undocumented migrants, in that they are ineligible for most federal benefits, including FEMA assistance.

It’s proper, then, that the state extend support to COFA residents and others, so they don’t fall into homelessness. Some of the $100 million-plus raised through private sources could be — should be — tapped to aid people who are COFA, undocumented or were unsheltered before the fires.

Also, the Red Cross has committed to sheltering Lahaina’s families with children or who include a member with disabilities, regardless of whether they had housing before the fire. And individuals who were homeless before the fire are welcomed at a temporary shelter in Kahului called Pu‘uhonua o Nene, built to serve those displaced from Lahaina.

No date has been set for Phase Two of West Maui’s tourism restart, which will follow an assessment of Phase One. That assessment must carefully consider the needs and experiences of Lahaina’s fire survivors. It’s necessary to reopen to respectful visitors, to continue economic recovery from Lahaina’s devastating fire, but it must be done with sensitivity and care.