Governor: Compensation fund for wildfire victims, families modeled after one created after 9/11
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Gov. Josh Green says he will announce details in an address Wednesday of a compensation fund for Maui wildfire victims and their families.
The fund is modeled after one created in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
“My hope is to be generous to families. I’m putting families first who lost loved ones or who had a severe injury,” Green said Tuesday on HNN’s “Spotlight Now.”
He added the next in line to to be eligible for funding would be those who lost property.
Watch previous episodes of “Spotlight Now” by clicking here.
The governor did not reveal how much the fund would have in it — or how much families could get.
But he said multiple “partners” are putting in cash along with the state.
Those who accept payouts from the fund would have to agree not to pursue wildfire-related litigation, including against Hawaiian Electric or Maui County.
Green said families will have to weigh the pros and cons of that — and ultimately make a decision.
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His pitch to victims and their families who might qualify: “If we do this together and we’re not divided in court ... a lot more resources will go directly to the people who lost everything.”
“They should make up their own minds about this kind of a settlement.”
Details of the fund are emerging as the state prepares to mark three months since flames destroyed Lahaina town. The wildfire is now the deadliest in the US in more than a century.
The death toll from the blaze stands at 99.
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