Big Island community to come together to support victims of deadly Maui wildfires 1 year later

“I don’t want the world to forget that 102 died as a direct result of the fire. I don’t want the world to forget our town was leveled,” wrote Debbie Schulz-Peterson in a July 23 public post on her Facebook page.

She is one of several survivors of the deadly Aug. 8, 2023, wildfire that destroyed Hawai‘i’s former royal capital of Lāhainā, Maui, whose account of the deadliest natural disaster in a century in the United States was featured in the July 28 episode of Discovery’s new documentary series “In the Eye of the Storm.”

The episode tells second-by-second life-changing stories of eyewitnesses using a combination of footage from smartphones, security cameras and bodycams, 9-1-1 audio recordings, radio dispatch and first-person testimony of some who were affected by the wildfires.

Its title is “Hellfire in Hawai‘i.”

“Many of us aren’t OK. But we’re trying,” Schulz-Peterson wrote. “I don’t know if this is something you ever get over. It’s something you live with and it changed us. It changed everyone.”

For many people like her, this week marks 1 year since the worst day of their lives as they relive the day they watched in horror as flames whipped up by strong, dry trade winds moved with blistering speed, burning everything — and anyone who couldn’t get out of the way fast enough — in their path.

More than 12,000 residents were displaced by the Lāhainā fire and other fires in Upcountry Maui. There were 102 people killed that day and more than 2,200 structures were destroyed, most of them homes.

Damages were estimated at $5.5 billion.

Nearly a year later, however, debris removal in Lāhainā is entering its final stages and is expected to be completed in the coming months.

Water and wastewater services were fully restored 2 weeks ago, and a temporary campus for King Kamehameha III Elementary School was built from the ground up in just 95 days. It was opened to students in April.

Even the historic 151-year-old banyan tree in the heart of town that was scorched and brown is growing back, showing its resolve for renewed life.

“The progress is real,” said U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawai‘i last week on the Senate floor at the Capitol in Washington.

But the process of recovery was never going to be quick — or easy. Schatz said it was always going to be a years-long effort.

Headlines might have moved on, but life for survivors has not. They still need help.

A Big Island nonprofit and North Hawai‘i business are partnering to do just that next weekend during a special event in Waimea.

Hawai‘i Island United Way and Parker Ranch Center, which is owned by M&J Wilkow, are hosting “Waimea + Maui – United in Aloha: A Day of Lōkahi.” It’s a touching event meant to unite the community and show continuous support for those impacted by the Maui wildfires.

“We know the recovery and rebuilding endeavors last a very long time,” said Hawai‘i Island United Way President and Chief Professional Officer Karen Davis. “We must continue our collective efforts to help the people of Maui and to never forget.”

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 11 at Parker Ranch Center, located at 67-1185 Māmalahoa Highway, donations will be accepted that will go toward continuing recovery efforts. There also will be a community resource fair and keiki activities.

All proceeds will support Maui United Way’s wildfire recovery initiatives. Cash donations and others such as gas cards, food cards and air conditioners also are welcome.

From 5 to 7 p.m., free musical performances featuring a lineup of Maka Gallinger, Sebrina Barron and Kalaʻe and Kalenaku Parish, all in an effort for the community to gather in solidarity and show support for its neighbors and ‘ohana on Maui.

It’s also a day to honor the memory of the solemn day and acknowledge the resilience and unity of those affected by the wildfires.

For more information and a full schedule, click here.

In one of Civil Beat’s “Letters to Lāhainā” published in a reel on Aug. 3 on the media outlet’s Facebook page, Phillip Joseph Bailey called the devastating wildfire that destroyed the historic Maui town last August an “unimaginable nightmare.”

Bailey stayed and fought with smoke billowing down the mountainside, driven by a deep love for his home for more than a half-century.

“Lāhainā, you were more than a town to me. You were my sanctuary, my history, my heart … As I navigate life without you, the pain of your loss lingers,” wrote Bailey in closing out his letter. “Yet, my love for you endures. I would fight for you again, and I will cherish your memory until my last breath.”

Civil Beat asks a good question in seeking out letters like Bailey’s: “If you could write a letter to Lahaina, what would you say?”

Despite the community’s grace and goodwill and the federal government’s robust response, Schatz said the recovery effort was always going to be riddled with stubborn realities to confront and difficult challenges to overcome.

“There is still so much unmet need and unfinished work,” he said. “And understandably, people are worried and anxious and exhausted. They’re tired of having to uproot their families from one temporary housing unit to the next every few weeks or every few months. They’re tired of wondering what the future holds and if that future will be on Maui at all. They worry about their friends and their neighbors grappling with depression and post-traumatic stress from lingering in trauma from the fires. They worry about their kids missing out on school and getting left behind.”

One year later, people’s lives are nowhere near back to normal.

U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawai‘i said on the Senate floor in a speech last week that the uncertainty and instability have left many feeling like they’re fighting just to survive.

Hirono reiterated that while the federal government has delivered more than $1 billion for recovery efforts, as is often the case with disasters of this magnitude, much more federal support will be necessary in the months and years ahead to ensure Maui’s long-term healing.

“Housing remains the No. 1 issue,” Schatz said. “Businesses still need help as tourism lags. And people of all ages need expanded access to mental health resources and other health care. Every part of the government, whether it’s federal, state or county, has a responsibility to help the survivors get back on their feet.”

Right now, he added, the means passing President Joe Biden’s Domestic Supplemental Appropriations Request, which includes significant investments in the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery program that for decades has been a lifeline for disaster survivors throughout the nation.

Schatz said it is a proven program that has helped revive dozens of devastated communities, and it has to be extended to the survivors of Maui.

Hirono agreed, saying the Senate must commit to a supplemental bill before the end of the year to provide the resources Maui needs now and other communities throughout the nation will need if and when they are impacted by disaster.

With hundreds — if not already thousands — of acres throughout the state already scorched by wildfire this year, including on Maui, the Big Island and Kaua‘i, and nearly 80% of Hawai‘i Island either abnormally dry or in moderate or severe drought as of the end of July, another wildfire disaster here is not just a possibility, it’s almost an inevitability.

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee last week approved several measures — included as amendments to other bills — authored by Schatz, who is a committee member, that aim to improve fire weather forecasting and warnings.

Some also promote the use of artificial intelligence to predict extreme weather.

“By improving fire weather forecasts and warnings, we can save lives and communities,” Schatz said. “The committee’s vote today gets us one step closer to enacting life-saving measures that will improve weather forecasts and fire warnings in Hawai‘i and across the country. It also will help us realize AI’s full potential in a safe and responsible way.”

The measures specific to fire weather and forecasting will:

Improve fire weather forecasts and warnings in remote or rural areas.

• The Lahaina wildfire highlighted the dangers that remote communities face from fire and the need for forecasts and warning services to reach them in a timely and actionable way. This provision would mandate fire weather forecasts and warnings be disseminated to remote, isolated or rural communities as effectively as anywhere else in the country.

Strengthen weather forecasts with better data.

• This measure would direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to establish and maintain a National Mesonet Program to help address critical gaps in weather data and forecasting. Mesonets are weather observation data networks that track mesoscale weather events. These networks are crucial for collecting local meteorological data such as soil moisture and water levels to better forecast flood, fire and agricultural impacts.

Promote AI tech to improve extreme weather forecasts.

• Schatz’s Transformational AI to Modernize the Economy (TAME) Extreme Weather Act amendment requires the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to adopt and implement artificial intelligence technology to better predict and respond to extreme weather. The measure also urges the agency to consider how to recruit and retain the AI workforce of the future, creating new scientific and technical jobs.

“Not again … another brush fire … when is it going to stop … it’s almost the 1 year anniversary of the Lāhainā fire that destroyed our Lāhainā town and just in the past week multiple fires all over the island … breaks my heart,” wrote Lorri Lane of Lahaina on July 26 in a public Facebook post.

Aug. 8, 2023, is a day that will never be forgotten for anyone who survived the Lāhainā fire or those whose loved ones were taken by its flames. It’s a day many in the islands and around the globe won’t forget.

“For the people of Lāhainā, the past year has been a year of uncertainty and unease,” Schatz said. “Unspeakable grief and heartache. Impossible choices. A year of what-ifs and what’s next. Nothing will ever fully replace the people and the things that were lost on that harrowing day about a year ago. But what we can do is be there for them as they recover — for as long as it takes, every step of the way. That is our responsibility and that is our promise.”

Hirono said Lahaina will be rebuilt by coming together in solidarity, guided by the voices and values of its people: “To the people of Maui, we are Maui strong.”

If you want to lend your continued support to Maui and the people of Lahaina, get in touch with Maui United Way. Click here for contact information and find out more about how you can help.

And don’t forget about “Waimea + Maui – United in Aloha: A Day of Lōkahi” next weekend at Parker Ranch Center in Waimea.