It’s been six months since the Maui wildfires, and I still can’t believe it. I was sitting in my little back yard in Toronto working on a story on a lovely summer’s day last August 8 when I saw a note from my sister on Facebook to suggest something had happened in Lahaina. I had no idea. I checked the news and was dumbstruck at how a place I have visited 50-60-80 times over the years and loved with all my heart had been almost totally destroyed.
I was on Maui in October of last year and saw the damage first-hand. And was again struck by the mindless waste and tragedy that hit this bucolic small city that fateful day. I didn’t stop at the side of the road to gawk. I didn’t take any photos of what is a sacred place of sorrow and overwhelming pain. But as I drove along I couldn’t help glancing out the window of my car and seeing what remains of that beautiful, crazy, loving, boundless joy of a city. I saw charred cars and withered trees. I saw chimneys standing all alone, and homes reduced to piles of dark ash. These were safe places for people to relax and be with their families; to sleep together, to dine together, to dream together. And now so many of them are gone. And far too many people with them.
As I drove along the bypass in the hills above what used to be the town, I couldn’t help but notice the Maui fire memorial; small crosses and photos of the victims. I close my eyes at night sometimes and still see the faces; especially the little children.
Front Street in Lahaina before the fires. JIM BYERS PHOTO
I don’t think anyone knows what the future holds for Lahaina. Tourism is coming back to Maui, and to west Maui, and that’s a good thing. Still, the New York Times reports that some 600 small businesses — half the number registered in Lahaina before the fires — are still not operational.
People seem to be mindful about visiting responsibly, and that’s critical. The wounds are still deep and it’s not the time to pose for goofy Instagram photos on the beach. If you want to visit, please be respectful. Maybe you can volunteer to help out at the animal shelter or the Food Bank. You also can help out with activities such as beach clean-ups or helping get rid of invasive tree species, two volunteer sessions I have taken part in on Maui in the past. With the Malama Hawaii program, you can turn a few hours of volunteer work into a free night at your hotel.
Maybe the economy will improve in a year or two. The latest forecasts I saw for the state suggested the tourism economy won’t be back to full strength until perhaps 2025 or even 2026.
I think the tourism industry on Maui will bounce back soon enough. But I worry about Lahaina and what will happen to her. I realize that some people see the city’s famous banyan tree as a symbol of colonialism, but I’ve spent parts of many days under its shady limbs, and I’m happy to see it making a recovery. But what about the surf shops and the galleries and the restaurants? What about the priceless documents of Lahaina’s native and immigrant history?
Some locals are asking for restoration of the ancient Hawaiian fish ponds and streams that were paved over years ago in the name of progress. I don’t know where the money would come from, but that would be a very strong signal that native Hawaiian voices matter, and an acknowledgement of the many wounds inflicted on native culture over the last 200-plus years.
I also worry about the town’s famous landmarks. Can someone rebuild the historic Baldwin House and the Wo Hing Temple Museum that honored Chinese immigrants? What about the Pioneer Inn? Can you re-created that aged, lived-in, casual, weather-beaten look that Lahaina had while providing more safety for the occupants? If you do, will it look like a theme park? Nobody wants Lahaina to look like some kind of Epcot Maui. But it would be nice to build back in a way that echoes that careless, ramshackle look that had charmed visitors for so many decades.
The Wo Hing Temple Museum, Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii before the fires. JIM BYERS PHOTO
I’m not a conspiracy theorist. Lahaina was not deliberately set on fire so developers could make money. But there’s no doubt that some lesser lights in the development industry will try to take advantage of poor Lahaina residents. I do worry that native Hawaiians, long without a sufficient voice in the running of many areas of Hawaiian life, won’t be given the respect they deserve.
“The place we all knew and loved is forever changed,” Lahaina resident Victoria Martocci, who lost “everything” to the fires, told The Times. “The place we all knew and loved is forever changed. We just know we have to keep moving forward and find some sense of normalcy.”
I don’t have any answers. I do know that there’s a Lahaina Restoration Fund and that there are many, many passionate, caring people on Maui and elsewhere who are committed to doing the right thing.
A Honolulu-based website called civilbeat.org reported last fall that the leaders of the Lahaina Restoration Foundation, the preservation group that rebuilt Lahaina’s historic areas six decades ago, believe that much of historic Lahaina can be restored.
“Elements of those buildings can be saved,” said Matthew Webster, executive director of Grainger Department of Architectural Preservation and Research at Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia, who viewed before and after pictures of the properties. The buildings could be reconstructed “exactly the same as they were, absolutely.”
It would be lovely if Lahaina was physically rebuilt. But it will never be the same emotionally. Any chance of that disappeared last August 8, along with so many innocent, sweet lives.
MAUI COUNTY ANNOUNCES SIX-MONTHS VIGIL FOR FEB. 8
In observance of the six-month mark after the Lahaina Fire on August 8th, 2023, Maui County will host a community gathering on Thursday, Feb. 8, at 6:00 p.m. at the Lahaina Civic Center Amphitheater. The gathering will offer a time for community members to honor lost loved ones and come together in prayer for comfort, healing and hope. Faith leaders from different Lahaina churches will offer prayers as part of the gathering.
Refreshments will be provided. Gates will open at 5:30 p.m. Attendees are asked to bring a mat or beach chair for amphitheater seating; seating for kūpuna will be provided. Out of respect for the occasion, the County has announced this is not a media event.
