AMNA NAWAZ: Tomorrow marks three years since the deadly wildfires swept through the town of Lahaina on the island of Maui.

The fires consumed thousands of structures, killed 102 people, and destroyed an important site of Hawaiian history.

Today, hundreds of homes have been rebuilt and permits for hundreds more have been approved.

But, as Stephanie Sy reports, many of Lahaina's residents remain in limbo.

CHARLES NAHALE, Maui Resident: I'm still living out of a suitcase three years going on.

So, it's exhausting.

STEPHANIE SY: Charles Nahale is among the hundreds of Maui fire survivors still receiving temporary housing assistance from FEMA.

He's had to move seven times since the fires.

CHARLES NAHALE: One of the time, they came knocking on my door: "You got to leave today."

"What?

I didn't get any notice.

I'm supposed to leave today?"

"Yes, you have to leave today."

And that poor brother, he lost his home too.

He was security, I think, for the property.

We're both like, ah.

STEPHANIE SY: After the fires, disaster officials struggled to house the 12,000 Maui residents who were displaced overnight.

Most were renting, or, like Nahale, living in multigenerational homes.

Soon, many may be uprooted again.

FEMA recently sent letters to survivors informing them it would be increasing their rent for the second time this year in an effort to compel them to find permanent housing.

CHARLES NAHALE: I don't know how people are going to afford it, because they're asking for a lot.

STEPHANIE SY: His work as a musician, which depends on tourism, hasn't bounced back.

And he's still waiting on his share of a $4 billion settlement for victims.

After the fires, many feared that, with Maui's soaring rents, the high cost of rebuilding, and gaps in insurance payouts, many of Lahaina's longtime residents simply might not be able to stay.

Maui has one of the highest costs of living in the United States, and the average cost of a single-family home is over $1 million.

RICHARD BISSEN, Mayor of Maui County, Hawaii: Our main goal is to keep our people home and bring our people home to allow them to have housing, whether it's a long-term rental or a purchase.

STEPHANIE SY: Richard Bissen is the mayor of Maui County.

After the fires, the county and the state built temporary housing across the island.

It's now secured federal funding for permanent housing solutions for survivors, like Charles Nahale, who applied for a first-time homebuyer subsidy.

CHARLES NAHALE: I'm not really sure what would happen if I can't afford the rent and the programs aren't -- let's say they say I don't qualify.

Then I guess I will have to really look into what I have to do to survive.

STEPHANIE SY: Survival for many has meant leaving Maui.

Since the fires, more than 3,400 residents have moved off the island.

With FEMA assistance due to run out altogether in February, the county acknowledges it's up against the clock.

RICHARD BISSEN: We're moving as quickly as we can.

I don't know that we can ever move quick enough in any setting.

CAROLYN AUWELOA, Lahaina Community Land Trust: More than 50 percent of the population of native Hawaiians now don't live in Hawaii.

STEPHANIE SY: Stemming the flow of locals leaving Lahaina is urgent to many here, like native Hawaiian conservationist Carolyn Auweloa.

CAROLYN AUWELOA: We will lose the character of our place.

We will lose our identity.

We will lose the people who love this place so much, know it intimately, from the way the winds blow, the way that the currents move, the way that the fish come in season, the -- everything about Lahaina.

We can't lose that.

We can't.

STEPHANIE SY: She co-founded a nonprofit, the Lahaina Community Land Trust, to try and protect longtime residents affected by the fires from getting priced out in the rebuilding boom.

CAROLYN AUWELOA: The fire pretty much took all of the housing here, all of this part of town.

STEPHANIE SY: It's raised tens of millions of dollars, including from the county, to buy lots in the burn zone, build houses, and sell them at more affordable prices to locals.

CAROLYN AUWELOA: When you buy a Community Land Trust home, you're committing to owner occupancy, you or your family, and it ensures that this home will always be forever affordable.

STEPHANIE SY: While housing construction has begun in earnest, the historic town's commercial core is still hollowed out.

Lahaina was an economic engine, generating $70 million a month in revenue; 20 percent of the island's businesses were located here, and 8,500 workers were employed.

WARREN FREELAND, Front Street Recovery: At this point, there's been no rebuilding, as you can see.

STEPHANIE SY: Warren Freeland represents a group of more than 70 commercial property owners in Lahaina.

WARREN FREELAND: There's been a mix of emotions over the past few years, yes, between disappointment and hope and frustration.

And everybody that I have talked to, without exception, wants to rebuild, just rebuild what they had before.

STEPHANIE SY: His family has owned land where the Pioneer Inn sat in Lahaina for generations.

Only the anchor in front of the building survived the fire.

WARREN FREELAND: The original building that was built by my great-grandfather in 1901, the original Pioneer Hotel, was right here in this site.

STEPHANIE SY: State laws and county codes for new commercial builds have led to lengthy permitting holdups for these historic properties.

But Freeland says the logjam is starting to loosen.

WARREN FREELAND: There were some laws that were changed that were followed by directives from the mayor.

And without those directives, there would not be a path forward.

STEPHANIE SY: But other new legislation may be holding the economy back, at least according to Maui's many short-term rental owners.

CAITLIN MILLER, Hawaii Mid and Short-Term Rental Alliance: There's no guarantee that a single house will be made affordable or attainable to residents, but what it does guarantee is that we are going to see harm to the economy and jobs and residents.

STEPHANIE Sy: Caitlin Miller represents the island short and midterm rental owners, most of whom live out of state.

WOMAN: The motion carries.

STEPHANIE SY: In December, the county passed a controversial housing measure aimed at phasing out 6,000 short-term rentals and getting them back into Maui's housing stock.

WOMAN: Are we going to continue to sit and not do anything?

Or are we going to make that bold move, make that change in order to house our people?

STEPHANIE SY: A University of Hawaii study estimated that the policy would decrease visitor spending on Maui by $900 million and lead to the loss of 1,900 jobs.

In June, the measure was wound back to about 2,000 units.

Do you think that there's validity to the argument that somehow these vacation homes are taking away housing from locals?

CAITLIN MILLER: I think what we have to come back to is that right now, with the fire and the rebuilding, the focus should be on rebuilding and streamlining permitting and making it so that we continue to build more housing for locals, versus taking away housing that was already here that's being used to benefit the community in other ways.

STEPHANIE SY: As Lahaina's community grapples with how to build back, Maui's mayor, Richard Bissen, summed up how many feel on this somber anniversary.

RICHARD BISSEN: People on a daily basis experience grief and gratitude, often at the same time.

They're thankful for this, and then they also are grieving something that's happened.

STEPHANIE SY: The county recently helped through a reunion, flying more than 100 displaced residents back to Maui.

It was supposed to be a homecoming.

But, for many survivors, like Charles Nahale, it's uncertain whether they will still have a place in its future.

CHARLES NAHALE: That's seeming like a far-fetched dream more and more.

STEPHANIE SY: For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Stephanie Sy in Maui, Hawaii.