Hawaii warns wealthy buyers not to buy wildfire victims' land

Josh Green, Governor of Hawaii, said he would not allow potential developers to approach families affected by wildfires. Credit: Etienne Laurent/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Hawaii's governor has warned wealthy buyers against trying to cash in on the archipelago's devastating wildfires.

More than 100 people have died and hundreds of homes and other buildings have been destroyed since the fires began . just over a week ago on the island of Maui.

Josh Greene said he was working on a moratorium on land sales in one of the hardest-hit areas, Lahaina, a historic city popular with tourists, to protect local landowners.< /p>

Further details are expected by Friday, when Mr. Green said he also wants a long-term moratorium on land sales that «will not benefit the local population.»

However, he acknowledged that the move would likely run into legal problems.

forest fire. Photo: Moisey Slovatsky /AFP via Getty Images

“My intention from start to finish is to make sure no one falls victim to the land grab,” he said.

“People are traumatized right now. Please do not approach them with an offer to buy their land.

«Don't tell their families they'll be much better off if they make a deal. Because we won't let that happen.»

Richie Palalai, a native of Lahaina, said locals fear efforts to rebuilding could come at a cost to residents if they focus on making the city even more affluent.

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«That's what we're afraid of,» he said from the evacuee shelter on the island Maui.

The death toll from the fires, which has reached 111 and is expected to continue to rise, has raised questions about why officials did not activate the warning system during the fires.

The governor of Hawaii wants a long-term moratorium on land sales that will not «benefit the local community.» the world's outdoor siren system.

Herman Andaya, head of the Maui Emergency Management Agency, defended the decision not to turn on the sirens during a fire.

He said: «We were afraid that people the Mauka will leave [toward the mountains or inland]. If that were the case, they would have burned.”

Many Lahaina residents struggled to afford life in Hawaii prior to the fire. In the state, the typical starter home costs more than $1 million (£783,000), while the average renter pays 42% of their income, according to Forbes analysis, the highest in the US by a wide margin.