08/23/2023
An update from the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders.
THE WHITE HOUSE
President Joe Biden delivers remarks as he visits an area devastated by wildfires on Lahaina, Hawaiʻi on August 21, 2023. Photo courtesy of the White House.
UPDATE
On Monday, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden traveled to Maui to meet with emergency responders, survivors, community members, as well as federal, state, and local officials.
After surveying damage on Marine One in the morning, the President, First Lady, Governor Green, and members of Hawaiʻi’s congressional delegation walked through Front Street in Lahaina to observe the damage and recovery from wildfires that started earlier this month. While there, the President met, thanked, and heard firsthand from a long line of first responders.
Later at the site, the President delivered remarks paying respects to the lives lost and reflected on the tragic, lasting impacts of the wildfires on survivors and the community.
President Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden paid their respects at the sacred site of Mokuʻula and participated in a blessing ceremony with Native Hawaiian leaders. Photo courtesy of the White House.
During his remarks, the President affirmed the administration’s commitment to recovery, and announced that he was appointing FEMA Region 9 Administrator Bob Fenton as the Federal government’s “Chief Federal Response Coordinator” to oversee the long-term coordinated federal recovery as Hawaiʻi rebuilds. Mr. Fenton is one of the nation’s most experienced disaster response-and-recovery officials who has been on the ground in Hawaiʻi from the day the wildfires started.
After surveying the damage throughout Lahaina, President Biden made his way to Lahaina Civic Center where he joined a community event, and delivered heartfelt remarks to Lahaina survivors and those who lost their loved ones and homes.
The latest on the coordinated federal response:
• If you were impacted by the fires in Hawaiʻi, visit DisasterAssistance.gov, call 800-621-FEMA (3362) or download the FEMA App to register for federal assistance.
• You can also visit FEMA’s newly opened joint Disaster Recovery Center at the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College, located at 310 W. Ka’ahumanu Avenue, Kahului, Hawaiʻi, to speak personally with FEMA specialists, get assistance registering for disaster assistance, get in touch with voluntary organizations offering additional support services, and have access to other federal and state resources. The doors are open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. HST seven days a week.
• President Biden delivers remarks on the recovery efforts on Maui. Watch here.
• President Biden delivers remarks at a community engagement with families and community members impacted by wildfires. Watch here.
• The Biden-Harris Administration’s latest actions to support communities impacted by the Maui wildfires. Read more.
• President Biden makes additional disaster assistance available to the State of Hawaiʻi. Read more.
“From stories of grief, we’ve seen so many stories of hope and heroism, of the Aloha spirit... to the people of Hawaiʻi, we’re with you for as long as it takes, I promise you.”
— PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN