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Over $150 million will be made available to people who lost family members or were physically injured in the Aug. 8 Maui wildfire, Gov. Josh Green announced today.

The money in what has been named the Maui Recovery Fund will be available to such survivors who are willing to release parties from potential liability in the fire.

Green said details on how the program will work still need to be finalized, but he expects payments can be made between April and June.

“The goal is to get as much money as possible to affected families as quickly as possible, cutting out delays and eliminating uncertainty,” he said. “This is intended to rapidly provide funds to Maui residents who have lost loved ones or have suffered serious injuries in the fires.”

So far, several entities who have been named as defendants in lawsuits over fire losses — the state, Maui County, Hawaiian Electric and Kamehameha Schools — have committed over $150 million to the fund, Green said.

The total amount of money for the fund is expected to increase with contributions from others, according to Green, including entities with no connections to the disaster that killed at least 99 people, severely injured about a dozen others and destroyed Lahaina town.

Based on the roughly $150 million initial commitment, families of the 99 people killed would share $1.5 million each if they all participated and no additional money was added to the fund.

Green also said that an enhanced fund in the longer term will be used to help Lahaina fire survivors in other ways that include rebuilding homes they lost in the fire.

Property damage from the fire that destroyed roughly 2,200 properties, including around 3,500 housing units, is estimated at $5.6 billion.

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