Maui’s ongoing recovery from the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfire disaster is getting a $1.6 billion financial boost from the federal government.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Friday announced a grant award to Maui County for the funding, which can be used for homeowners to replace lost residences, to build affordable rental housing, to improve infrastructure including roads and utility systems, and to benefit small businesses, schools and health care.

Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen said HUD’s Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery fund award represents a critical milestone in the effort to recover from the fires in Lahaina and Kula that killed 102 people and destroyed more than 3,500 homes and other structures valued at an estimated $5.5 billion.

“This is incredible for what it can do for our community,” Bissen said during a news conference in Lahaina. “Our people will thrive again.”

Bissen added that the partnership between HUD and Maui County affirms the power of resilience and collaboration and that “we are honored to work together to create a brighter future for our Maui.”

The HUD grant program exists to primarily help low- and moderate-income households and communities.

HUD Deputy Chief of Staff Trey Reffett announced the award at the news conference and noted that the CDBG disaster recovery funding for Maui, which was part of nearly $12 billion recently appropriated for the HUD program by Congress, was long overdue.

“Maui waited too long,” he said.

Reffett also said Maui County has produced a long-term recovery plan that other communities are looking at as a standard to follow, and that no community that suffers damage resulting in a presidential disaster declaration should doubt whether HUD support will be delivered.

“The road ahead will be long, but HUD will be here to help support the work of the community.”

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said in a statement that the HUD disaster recovery grant funding has been a lifeline for many communities struck by disasters over the years and that it will be critical to building housing on Maui as quickly as possible.

“Survivors of the devastating Maui fires have been waiting a long time for this help to arrive in order to rebuild their homes and lives and get back on their feet,” said Schatz, chair of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development.

Erika Moritsugu, deputy assistant to President Joe Biden as a senior liaison for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, said the federal government will help Maui as long as it takes.

Moritsugu said that to date more than $3 billion in federal assistance has been committed to help Maui’s recovery, including the new HUD grant and funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Small Business Administration and other agencies.

Bissen pointed out that much of FEMA’s contributions, while critical, are temporary, such as rental assistance and modular homes. The HUD grant, in contrast, will help provide new permanent housing.

More than 1,000 temporary homes are housing fire survivors, and more than 1,000 permanent homes are largely in early stages of progress, Bissen said.

To date, four homes have been rebuilt, while 207 property owners have received building permits for new houses, according to Bissen, who added that another 556 building permit applications are pending.

Maui County must execute an action plan with HUD for the funding to be released, but Reffett said that should not take long. Under the program, the funds will be available for at least six years.