In a span of two days, the entire island of Maui and especially historic Lāhainā have been completely ravaged by unprecedented wildfires. Hawaiʻi News Now reported that as of late tonight, Maui County confirmed at least 36 people died, dozens were critically injured by the fires, and over 271 buildings and structures were damaged and/or destroyed. The wildfires started on Tuesday and absolutely decimated the island with Lāhainā in particular taking the brunt of the flames, and continued burning throughout this evening. Maui often suffers from brush fires due to its drier quality, and the current drought conditions made for a wrecking ball when combined with Hurricane Dora’s immense winds. The entire historic town of Lāhainā was flattened in the flames, which is especially horrific considering its significance in our culture and history. Lāhainā was where King Kamehameha the Great located the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi’s first capital in the early 19th century. The islands were all operating individually before King Kamehameha I united us all under one Hawaiʻi. Many aliʻi lived and huddled together in historic Lāhainā to discuss and act upon political will, decisions, and actions (before the U.S.’ illegal overthrow of our Kingdom of course). So much of our lāhui’s history and kūpuna are now buried under the wreckage of the wildfires in one of our most sacred and important places. Countless kānaka and other residents have lost not only their homes, careers, businesses, transportation forms, but also for many of them, their lives. At least 14 people including two young children in Lāhainā had to be rescued from the ocean after jumping in to escape the flames. Maui will struggle immensely as some fires still rage and we don’t know the entirety of the damage and who else has been lost, so it’s imperative that we pool our money and offer donations to funds for the community members. Haole tourists especially love Maui, so if you’ve ever visited Hawaiʻi or moved here (especially while kānaka begged people to stop coming here as we still continue to do), open your wallets and pour your resources into Maui! Please see the following links, Venmos, and supporting information below.
Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement
