Cully Thieman makes jewelry outside of the Wailuku Coffee Company on Thursday, Jan. 16. The Maui News/Megan Moseley

On Thursday, residents in Wailuku were asked their thoughts about the recent news that Congress will distribute more than $2 billion in disaster relief funding to Maui County to help with the Lahaina rebuild.

Joe Myhand, owner of Bird of Paradise in Wailuku, said he hopes more can be done to help support Maui’s economy moving forward.

“It affected the whole economy, not just Lahaina,” he said of the 2023 wildfires. “This is going to be going on for a long time and there’s no quick fix here.”

He said he’s heard a few people have started to rebuild on the island’s westside, but he believes the process of rebuilding Lahaina will be ongoing and Maui County will need more support in the future.

“It’s going to be a long, drawn-out ordeal, and it will never be anything close to what it once was,” he said.

Joe Myhand of Bird of Paradise in Wailuku shows off an article on Maui where his business was featured. The Maui News/Megan Moseley

Joe Myhand of Bird of Paradise in Wailuku shows off an article on Maui where his business was featured. The Maui News/Megan Moseley

Cully Thieman agreed, saying that while he is grateful to hear funding will be going toward those who need it, he’s hopeful more can be done to help Maui County’s economy.

“The whole situation that occurred has been detrimental to the economy of Maui in general,” he said. “With the whole fires, I’ve seen so many businesses close down and opportunities where they won’t get anything.”

Sean Baba, owner and artist at North Shore Art & Frame, a fine art and custom picture framing shop on Market Street in Wailuku, said he hopes the money will be handled properly and recommends a volunteer board to oversee the management of the distribution process.

“And work on how to delegate this money and how to appropriate it,” he said.

Nadine Ramelb, a visual tropical artist whose work is in Baba’s store, lost everything in the Aug. 8, 2023, Lahaina wildfire. From her art to her friends, loved ones and memories, she is now living in a different part of the island and recovering from the loss.

Nadine Ramelb is a visual tropical artist whose work is in the North Shore Art & Frame shop in Wailuku. Ramelb lost everything in the Aug. 8, 2023 wildfire in Lahaina and has relocated

Nadine Ramelb is a visual tropical artist whose work is in the North Shore Art & Frame shop in Wailuku. Ramelb lost everything in the Aug. 8, 2023 wildfire in Lahaina and has relocated. The Maui News/Megan Moseley

She said she would like to know how to apply for the funding and hopes the money will be distributed properly.

“I’m skeptical about where that money is going to go,” she said.

More information about the funding is available at mauirecovers.org.