The beginnings of a Lahaina wildfire victims compensation fund were announced Wednesday by Gov. Josh Green, three months after the disaster that killed at least 99 people.

More than $150 million will be made available to people who lost family members or were seriously injured in the Aug. 8 fire.

Money in what has been named the Maui Recovery Fund will be available to such survivors who are willing to release parties from any tort liability in the fire.

Green said details on how the program will work still need to be finalized, but that he expects initial payments can be made between April and June to qualified applicants, and that expected future growth of the fund will expand use to cover people who lost homes in the wind-driven blaze.

Participation is optional, and attorneys donating their time will be available to advise interested participants, according to Green.

Payments from the fund are being offered in part as a way to provide monetary compensation more quickly as a trade-off to what could be more money obtained through litigation that involves uncertainty and might take years.

“We want to make sure that we care for families, that they can move on to some degree with their lives,” Green said. “No amount of money will ever help anyone deal with the loss of a loved one. However, it does make a difference as they rebuild. It might help them rebuild a home sooner. It might help them care for their grandchildren. So that’s why we are doing it.”

So far, several entities named as defendants in numerous lawsuits over fire losses — the state, Maui County, Hawaiian Electric and Kamehameha Schools — have committed over $150 million to the fund, Green said.

Hawaiian Electric said it will contribute up to $75 million, and this contribution will come from insurance proceeds and not customers.

The total amount of money for the fund is expected to increase with contributions from others, according to the governor, including donors with no liability risk from the disaster.

“The way we view this is that as an ohana we’re all taking responsibility as a state,” Green said. “Rather than it being about liability, it’s about responsibility. … It really is Hawaii coming together.”

Based on only the roughly $150 million initial commitment, families of the 99 people killed would share $1.5 million each if they all participated and no additional money was added to the fund. About a dozen people were severely injured in the fire that destroyed most of Lahaina town.

Green also said that an enhanced fund in the longer term will be used to help Lahaina fire survivors in other ways that include rebuilding homes they lost in the fire.

Property damage is estimated at $5.6 billion from the fire, which destroyed roughly 2,200 properties, including around 3,500 homes.

Much of the litigation has been directed against Hawaiian Electric, with plaintiffs alleging that a power line blown down amid gale-force winds started the fire. Some of the lawsuits claim that private and public owners of land filled with dry brush also are liable for the disaster.

As part of Green’s announcement Wednesday delivered live on his Facebook page and on ‘Olelo Community Media TV followed by media interviews, the governor said legislation will be introduced in the upcoming session of the Legislature, which begins in January, to comprehensively guard against future disasters.

Elements in the envisioned legislation are to include wildfire mitigation, hardening the power utility system against such risk, covering future catastrophic events, enhancing warning systems and ensuring that homeowners insurance is available and affordable.

Suggested ways to pay for these things include a climate impact fee charged to tourists and general tax revenue that can be leveraged through bond financing, according to Green, who said a goal is to avoid significant increases to energy bills for Hawaii residents.

The legislative package and the Maui Recovery Fund together with ongoing programs related to the Lahaina wildfire — including $120 million provided for housing assistance, $12.5 million in forgivable business loans and $100 million for families with children affected by the fire — are being referred to by Green as the “One ‘Ohana Initiative.”

Shelee Kimura, Hawaiian Electric president and CEO, said in a statement Wednesday that she appreciates the path put forward by the governor.

“We believe the One ‘Ohana Initiative is a powerful example of how, in times of hardship and heartbreak, Hawaii stands together for our people and our communities,” Kimura said. “One of the strengths of Hawaii is that we understand we are all one ‘ohana. When we come together in force and with aloha, we build a stronger future for Maui and everyone in Hawaii.”

Separately Wednesday, Hawaiian Electric announced that a freeze on service disconnections for Maui customers that ran through Monday is extended through at least Jan. 5 in accordance with Green’s more recent supplemental emergency proclamation issued Monday. The company advises that customers facing financial hardship call the company at 808-871-9777 to explore manageable payment options.

In Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, called for additional federal support for housing and health care on Maui related to the disaster.

Since Aug. 8, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has provided nearly $250 million in federal assistance, while the U.S. Small Business Administration has delivered more than $215 million in disaster loans for affected Maui homeowners, renters and businesses, according to Schatz.

During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Schatz told Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA, that he is concerned about many Maui fire evacuees and residents leaving the island due to housing constraints.

“FEMA has been great. FEMA has been extraordinary,” Schatz said, adding that it could take two to five years for residents who lost homes, including renters, to move into rebuilt homes in Lahaina. “A lot of people are going to be forced to leave Maui, and that’s just a fact.”

Mayorkas said the federal government should help disaster survivors stay in their community. “We should strive to do everything possible to rebuild, restore and prove the resiliency of a community,” he said. “The challenge in Maui has been quite unique … I do believe in devoting resources and energy to the rebuilding of a community, rather than solely an exodus from it.”

Schatz again praised FEMA but said he’s concerned that some of the improvement in the number of Maui fire evacuees moving out of short-term accommodations, including hotel rooms, because they have found new housing is because they have left the island.

“I just want to flag that for you as a bad outcome,” Schatz said.

Green said about 6,800 fire evacuees were staying in Maui hotels as of Monday, and that numerous efforts are being made to produce more appropriate housing. This includes use of short-term rentals that private owners typically rent to tourists, homeowners developing accessory dwelling units on their property, and possibly hundreds of residential units built by FEMA.

The governor also said that realistically there likely will be fire evacuees staying in hotel rooms well into 2025.