There remains a long road ahead for Maui residents recovering from the deadly Aug. 8 wildfires, according to Larry Olmstead, president and CEO of United Way of Northern California.

Olmstead, who led disaster relief efforts for the 2018 Camp fire in Paradise, Calif., was on Maui in the initial weeks following the fires to help and was inspired by the community spirit he witnessed.

“I am struck, first and foremost, by the resilience of Maui residents and the cohesiveness of the community,” said Olmstead. “It is a place where families are close and relationships matter, where people seem to want to help one another. There is anger now, there is grieving — but Maui is also a place where seeds of hope can be planted and bloom.”

For Maui’s recovery, he said, officials have the advantage of focusing resources on a defined geographical area and a relatively small population.

The Lahaina fire has killed at least 98 people and destroyed more than 2,000 structures. The Camp fire killed at least 85 and burned down 14,000 homes.

Maui United Way is offering another round of grants to nonprofit partners and working with them to create a long-term recovery plan.

The grants will go to local groups focused on basic needs, according to spokesperson Lisa Grove, with review by some fire survivors.

Some of the 20 nonprofits that received the first round of grants include Maui Economic Opportunity, the Common Ground Collective and Lahaina Arts Guild.

Olmstead said those displaced by the fire will need temporary shelter for an extended time, and he was impressed by the collaborative effort by the state, hotels and others to provide it.

In California, fire survivors have undergone a predictable pattern of what he calls “wildfire fog,” in which one feels lost.

“Once you lose your home, you lose your bearings,” he said. “Everything becomes more difficult. Navigating bureaucracy can be a mind-boggling challenge. Everything takes more time.”

One’s favorite coffee shop may be gone, along with one’s doctor or dentist, and friends might have moved out of the area.

The first step to combating that fog is to provide hope, he said, to let people know that someone out there cares. The second is to provide immediate financial assistance, as Maui United Way did in the initial weeks following the fire.

The third is to promote stable housing to help survivors feel grounded, he said. Once stability is established, people are better able to make sound decisions on the next steps in their lives.

Maui United Way’s emergency financial assistance program offered a one-time, $1,000 financial assistance payment to adult survivors living in the affected fire zones of Lahaina and Kula.

The program has closed, but more than $6 million has been paid out to thousands of survivors, according to Grove. Maui United Way is still disbursing funds.

The focus now is on providing financial assistance to nonprofit partners providing services focused on assisting keiki and young adults; mental health; providing stable housing; and job training and employment services.

Providing mental health assistance for survivors and all island residents is vital in the aftermath of a disaster like the Maui wildfires, said Olmstead.

“This is stressful, especially for those who literally had to flee for their lives, and for those who lost loved ones,” he said. “For survivors, every single thing becomes difficult.”

And disaster recovery and rebuilding will take a very long time, he said, calling it a “marathon, not a sprint.”

A few months before the Camp fire in Paradise, the Carr fire in Redding, Calif., destroyed 1,200 residences in Shasta County, and took three years of recovery and rebuilding, he said.

Lahaina, when rebuilt, will not be exactly the same as it was before the fire, he warned.

Paradise, with a population of about 26,000 at the time of the Camp fire, has been reduced to about 10,000 today and is still rebuilding, he said. Even now, five years later, United Way is still writing checks to Paradise survivors.

“After such a devastating incident — and in recognition of the island’s culture and history — trust building will be important,” said Olmstead. “There is grief, there must be accountability, but hopefully the community — with all diverse interests playing a role — will move quickly through those phases to support a rebirth of Lahaina and a commitment to mitigate future disasters. From what I see, Maui is up for the challenge.”

Maui United Way encourages residents who need assistance to call the 211 Information and Referral Helpline.