A BUSINESSMAN has been stopped in his tracks after attempting to build a rent-free tiny home village for Hawaiian residents who lost their homes in a wildfire.

Alfy Basurto lost his home and business in the Lahaina fires, and now he’s facing a lawsuit at the hands of the Pu’unoa Homeowners Association.

In early August, 98 people were killed with 12 still missing after the deadliest U.S. wildfire of the century turned eastern Maui into a charred wasteland.

Many who safely evacuated were left homeless and had to find temporary shelter elsewhere in the already crowded collection of islands.

Weeks later, Basurto, a local businessman, announced a plan that involved building 15 tiny homes for $80,000 and not charging rent until two years after residents moved in.

But on Tuesday, he revealed that the plan was on hold as he was accused of grading the land above Lahaina without permission from his management company.

“I never thought that these guys would go as far as to, you know, file a complaint or to stop, prevent emergency housing,” he told ABC affiliate KITV.

Basurto said he was shocked to be named in the lawsuit “at a time when all of us need to contribute to the solution.”

“It breaks my heart knowing people are going to have to leave the west side. Like that alone – leaving the west side – is hard,” Basurto said.

“Leaving Maui, you know, even harder.”

The businessman is still asking for donations for his nonprofit Rebuild Maui, and hopes that he can help revitalize the community.

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The U.S. Sun has reached out to the Pu’unoa Homeowner’s Association for comment.

HOA lawsuits are not uncommon, but legal experts say they most often do not go before a judge.

It’s important for residents to maintain relationships with property management groups, and attempt to come to an agreement before racking up expensive legal fees.

DEADLY BLAZE

More than 2,200 structures were damaged or destroyed in the fires, with much of the damage centered in the downtown area of Lahaina.

Governor Josh Green said that the blaze burned up to temperatures of 1,000 F which is hot enough to melt granite counters and engine blocks, the Honolulu Civil Beat reports.

Responders found melted aluminum underneath cars that were found in rubbled pieces, the governor said.

The intense blaze made identifying victims difficult, leaving many families to hold out false hope that their loved ones escaped the blaze but had yet to get in contact with them.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency estimates that losses could be valued at up to $3.2billion with historic structures left flattened by flames.

Community leaders continue to urge for assistance and stress that the loss of land is especially impactful on native islanders.

“Can you imagine, to have farmed this land for generations, then the fires just wipe everything out?” the director of a Native Hawaiian non-profit Dr Malia Purdy told The Guardian.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen to mental health on Maui.”