Lahaina Filipino Fire Survivors Association launches to fight for working class migrants

The County of Maui Office of Recovery, Lahaina Filipino fire survivors and community members gathered to celebrate the official launch of the Lahaina Filipino Fire Survivors Association (LFFSA) on Tuesday. LFFSA, an initiative of the Hawaiʻi Workers Center, is a grassroots organization of directly impacted worker leaders organizing for a long term recovery that addresses the most crucial needs of Lahaina’s Filipino fire survivors in the aftermath of the 2023 wildfires.

According to LFFSA, more than 40% of Lahaina’s pre-fire population identifies as Filipino, but organizers say many Filipinos have been left behind in Lahaina’s ongoing wildfire recovery due to a lack of language access and affordable housing.

LFFSA is fighting for rental assistance, affordable and long term housing, community-led decisions, and survivor representation in recovery planning.

The launch highlighted the ongoing needs of this segment of the community in Lahaina, nearly two years after the wildfires devastated the area. Fire survivors expressed fear about what comes next after the FEMA assistance ends in February 2026.

Dominguilio Tupinio Jr., a worker at a hotel in Lahaina, shared about how the lack of affordable housing on Maui underscores the need for rental assistance and urged the government to take action. “Thirty to forty percent of our combined income goes to rent,” he said. “If we pay all our bills like mortgage for car, bank loan, insurance, car, life, medical and dental, and tuition fees for my daughter it will not be enough. And what about those we are supporting back [in the Philippines] that we were supporting regularly before the fire?”

LFFSA members encourage all those impacted by the fires to come together to share their experiences rather than to just struggle on their own silently. The association vows to continue its efforts to advocate to provide all fire survivors, both renters and homeowners, with clear and transparent information about recovery programs and assistance.