Think about this as a motive for the fire being arson: MONEY
Lahaina residents worry a rebuilt Maui town could slip into the hands of affluent outsiders
"LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Richy Palalay so closely identifies with his Maui hometown that he had a tattoo artist permanently ink “Lahaina Grown” on his forearms when he was 16.
But a chronic housing shortage and an influx of second-home buyers and wealthy transplants have been displacing residents like Palalay who give Lahaina its spirit and identity.
A fast-moving wildfire that incinerated much of the compact coastal settlement last week has multiplied concerns that any homes rebuilt there will be targeted at affluent outsiders seeking a tropical haven. That would turbo-charge what is already one of Hawaii’s gravest and biggest challenges: the exodus and displacement of Native Hawaiian and local-born residents who can no longer afford to live in their homeland.
“I’m more concerned of big land developers coming in and seeing this charred land as an opportunity to rebuild,” Palalay said Saturday at a shelter for evacuees.
Hotels and condos “that we can’t afford, that we can’t afford to live in — that’s what we’re afraid of,” he said.
“So a lot of more recent arrivals — typically from the American mainland who have more money and can buy homes at a higher price — were to some extent displacing local families in Lahaina,” Higa said. It’s a phenomenon he has seen all along Maui’s west coast where a modest starter home two decades ago now sells for $1 million."
https://apnews.com/article/hawaii-maui-lahaina-housing-prices-shortage-d8902c3ea55a8ec4d9938865f3f749f7
