‘We can help’: Hawaii hotels could house California fire survivors

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Thousands of homes have been lost to the inferno around Los Angeles and many thousands have been displaced.

Hawaii’s governor is floating an idea that could bring some of those fire victims here to ease the pressure on resources in California.

Gov. Josh Green said Hawaii has around 25,000 hotel rooms statewide. But he said thousands of those rooms are empty and could be used to house displaced fire survivors.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority issued a report last November that said hotel occupancy is around 70%. meaning 30% of the available rooms aren’t being used.

“We have 25,000 hotel rooms in Hawaii so 20 percent would be 5,000. If they are vacant, and we can take the pressure off of California, it would not affect our housing inventory or long-term housing,” explained Green.

“If those vacancies can be used at an affordable price maybe we can help people get through this crisis.”

Green says California has sent help when Hawaii has encountered natural disasters. He believes Hawaii can help in its own way.

“They have all the firefighters in the world and sent us fire fighters, and its particularly good to take the weight off the small projects,” said Green.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority confirms it has been in talks with the governor about this proposal, but the governor himself said so far, it’s just a possibility.

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