As described in my previous couple of Buzzyblog posts here, Pam and I had a great time in Maui visiting with daughter Ryan, relaxing and enjoying our stay there.
However, we did take in something that was not any fun at all and in fact was down right depressing: seeing the devastation of Lahaina from the wildfires of six months ago. (Quick side-note here – since I have been back home, whenever someone has asked me how Maui was, after I tell them “Great” they will invariably followup with “Did you see any of the damage from the fire?” I have to answer “Yes, unfortunately I did.”
While we were there, the Maui police released a preliminary report on their response and actions the day of the fire (click here for related story.) That story was covered extensively by their local news folks and re-showed all the devastating scenes of the fire and its aftermath.
Whereas the other wildfires in Maui that day burned mostly countryside and had no fatalities, the poor people of Lahaina were literally trapped as the fires roared down the mountainside and destroyed their homes. Over a 100 people died as a result of not being able to escape the fires. Several of them died in their cars as they were trying to drive away.
We were able to drive thru the northern portion of Lahaina that escaped and survived the fire, but the FEMA folks still have the bulk of the area blocked off as they continue to clean things up. It’s gonna take them some time to do so.
Good news is that the famed Banyon Tree in the heart of Lahaina appears to have survived (click here.)