On the recordSeptember 7, 2023
tomorrow marks 1 month since the devastating fires that destroyed the historic town of Lahaina on Maui and damaged several of Maui's upcountry communities. These devastating fires and the events that followed have been harrowing for all those who call Maui home and the many more who have visited these communities over the years. Initial estimates suggest the fires destroyed nearly 3,000 structures in Lahaina, almost 90 percent of which were residential. It also leveled roughly 700 businesses in and around Lahaina's historic Front Street. Tragically, the fires have claimed 115 lives to date, with some 385 people still unaccounted for. These numbers are devastating and reflect the pain and anguish Hawaii is feeling. But this disaster did not simply impact a collection of numbers or statistics; it impacted a community of people, tight-knit and proud--business owners who served as stewards of family-owned shops and restaurants passed down through generations; immigrants who came to Maui in search of a better life for themselves and their families; firefighters who raced into horrific, toxic conditions to try to save a town they loved even as many of their own homes burned to the ground mere miles away; and so many more who called Lahaina home. As the onetime capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii, Lahaina holds great agriculture and historic significance for the Native Hawaiian community.…
