The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s point person for the Maui fires told a congressional oversight panel Wednesday that if he had to do it all over again, the direct-lease housing program would still be the best option to get survivors into longer-term housing.

U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda wanted to know what Bob Fenton, FEMA’s Region 9 administrator, had to say about the issue of “predatory behavior” given reports of how the program inadvertently displaced some long-term Maui renters since some landlords kicked out their tenants to take advantage of the higher rents.

Fenton said the agency has received fewer than 10 cases of people abusing the system by either evicting their tenants or not renewing their leases, and referred those to the state Attorney General’s Office.

Given Maui’s extreme housing shortage and the urgent need to provide temporary shelter for some 1,300 households deemed qualified for it, Fenton said the direct leasing program was the only option that made sense.

“I don’t know if there would have been any quicker solution,” said Fenton, who President Joe Biden appointed to coordinate the federal response to the country’s deadliest wildfire in more than a century.

The House panel held a four-hour hearing in Lahaina to review the federal response to the Maui wildfires of August 2023.

Appearing before the House Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce were top representatives of the main agencies that have coordinated everything from housing fire survivors, to cleaning up ash and debris, to making sure the air was safe to breathe and that water and sewer lines functioned properly.

Issues like building infrastructure and accessing water made the construction of temporary homes a longer-term prospect. FEMA instead targeted short-term vacation rental units as a faster solution to getting fire survivors into housing.

“Using vacation rentals was the best solution and most timely solution,” Fenton said.

Fenton highlighted the 34-acre, 169-unit housing development that FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are building off Cane Haul Road near Wahikuli Road in Lahaina, a project called Kilohana.

While the project will help alleviate some of the need for housing, it mirrors what FEMA does on the mainland and constitutes an approach that’s being exported to Maui, Fenton said.

Maybe there’s a better solution that can be crafted for the next disaster either here in Hawaii or elsewhere in the Pacific, he suggested.

“Is there something more austere that uses maybe solar or other things that don’t require as much infrastructure?” Fenton said.

At several points during the hearing, U.S. Rep. Ed Case discussed the timetable for continued federal funding to address Maui’s ongoing needs, namely the estimated $5.5 billion in economic impact from the fires.

FEMA has provided over $3 billion in funding to support the Maui recovery so far, Fenton said. But the disaster relief fund that FEMA draws on to respond to disasters ran out as of Aug. 7 so the federal agency is now using what’s called immediate needs funding. That funding is limited to providing lifesaving activities, not reconstruction.

In response to a question from Case about what the implications of the funding shortfall are to Maui, Fenton said it means that all infrastructure and longer-term recovery work will be put on a back burner until the disaster relief fund is replenished.

Maui must have its rebuilding plan ready to present to Congress sooner rather than later because with the federal fiscal year ending Sept. 30, lawmakers will soon be making decisions on next year’s budget, Case said.

Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said he expects a draft of the Lahaina reconstruction plan to be ready in October. It’s based on public feedback gathered at community and neighborhood meetings. Subsequent drafts will be released after the public weighs in, with a final plan intended to be released by year’s end, he said.

Tokuda asked about what Lahaina might look like as the town gets rebuilt, noting that many former buildings were “non-conforming,” meaning they would not comply with current building codes. Many streets were very narrow and buildings were made out of flammable materials, among other things.

Bissen said it’s a balancing act to envision a town that’s safer but one that retains some of the historic character and charm that defined Lahaina, former seat of the Hawaiian Kingdom. But as the county crafts the rebuilding plan, construction of new homes and businesses is already moving ahead.

Some 156 building permit applications have been submitted so far, Bissen said. Of those, 48 have been approved and 20 homes are currently being rebuilt in Lahaina.

“Our main policy is to put the same people back in the same homes on the same lands,” the mayor said.

In his opening statement at the hearing, the usually stoic Bissen grew emotional and had to stop to compose himself several times as he spoke about the hardship and grief the West Maui community is contending with 13 months after the tragedy.

“I want to recognize the incredible strength of our people, many of whom have endured inconceivable suffering but continue to push forward with incredible grit, sacrifice and immeasurable courage,” Bissen said, his voice catching.

While structures can be rebuilt, families moving away to the mainland because they’ve given up hope of rebuilding their lives on Maui is unacceptable, in his view.

“If we do not return Lahaina to the very people who represent the spirit and the soul of our community, if we don’t recognize the faces of our friends and our family as we repopulate, then we will have lost this battle for our people,” Bissen said.

The subcommittee chairman, U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, said he respected the “heartfelt emotion” that comes with recalling the tragedy of Aug. 8, 2023.

He described what Lahaina faces as it enters the rebuilding phase as a “serious undertaking.” Tough discussions lie ahead about things like undergrounding electrical lines, widening roads, creating a cultural corridor, and making buildings safer.

If you take someone’s land to widen a street, you run into property title issues, Sessions said.

“Our prayers are with you,” the Texas Republican said.

Video of the hearing and text of the opening statements can be viewed here.

Civil Beat’s coverage of Maui County is supported in part by a grant from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.