Ane and Lafaele Folaumoeloa are among the first survivors scheduled to move into FEMA’s Kilohana Group Housing site. Courtesy photo/FEMA

A couple and their three children, ages 5 to 11, are among the first survivors scheduled to move into the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Kilohana Group Housing site.

According to FEMA, Kilohana will become a temporary haven for up to 167 individuals and families at a Lahaina location where wildfire survivors can plan for the future.

Ane and Lafaele Folaumoeloa’s new modular unit will come with three bedrooms and basic furnishings. For the first time in more than a year, they will have a kitchen.

The help the family received from FEMA and the American Red Cross gave the family a temporary refuge in Lahaina, close to their former home. Now, they are ready to move ahead.

On Aug. 8, 2023, the day of the wildfires, fierce winds left them without power or cell service. The couple and their children decided to leave their Lahaina rental on Komo Mai Street to do some shopping in Kahului, according to FEMA.

On the return drive, a barricade stopped them from entering Lahaina at Hokokio Place, and they had to turn back to Kahului.

By then, thousands of Lahaina residents were evacuating, and traffic was bumper to bumper. When the family reached Kahului, they searched for a hotel room but could not find one. They sheltered at an uncle’s home, thinking they would return to Lahaina the next day.

At 3 a.m., the family received a text message from their landlord, a firefighter who had stayed behind, saying: “Don’t go home. There is nothing there. All Lahaina down.”

A few days later, the family moved closer to their previous home. They went to the Papakea Resort in Kaʻanapali, a hotel taking in survivors and later participating in the emergency shelter program managed by the state and the American Red Cross.

After the Red Cross program ended, FEMA moved the family into a nearby hotel, the Royal Lahaina, as part of its Direct Federal Assistance sheltering program.

Kilohana is designed to give them space to get back to normal while they find their permanent home.

For the latest information on the Maui wildfire recovery efforts, visit mauicounty.gov, mauirecovers.org, and fema.gov/disaster/4724. More information about disaster assistance and applications are available at sba.gov/hawaii-wildfires.