Gov. Green said that he instructed the state attorney general to work toward a moratorium on land transactions in Lahaina, even as he acknowledged the move would likely face legal challenges.

At least 2,200 buildings were damaged or destroyed in West Maui, Green said, nearly all of them residential. Across the island, the damage was estimated at close to $6 billion.

Hawaiian Electric, the utility that oversees Maui Electric and provides service to 95% of the state’s residents, did not deploy what’s known as a ‘public power shutoff plan.’

Residents of Maui County face a surreal landscape of flattened homes, blackened hulks of burned-out cars and ashy lots where buildings once stood.