evidence: Researchers say poverty and unemployment are up in Lahaina after last year’s wildfires HONOLULU (AP) — Unemployment and poverty are up and incomes are down among Maui wildfire survivors more than a year after a deadly blaze leveled historic Lahaina, a report published Tuesday found. [...] The report is based on survey responses from 402 people who lived, worked or owned businesses in West Maui and Kula at the time of the wildfires. Respondents were generally representative of the 12,000 residents and 6,000 people who commuted to these areas before the fires, researchers said. There was a higher share of low-income individuals among participants but not to a degree that would overturn the report’s conclusions, Bond-Smith said.