West Maui hotel illuminates ‘Lahaina Strong’ as state marks wildfire annivesary
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Communities across the state came together to honor all that was lost in last year’s Aug. 8 fires and made heartfelt tributes, including illuminating a West Maui hotel.
Marriott’s Maui Ocean Club in Kaanapali lit up 42 rooms Thursday night, forming a giant “L” and “S” which stood for “Lahaina Strong.”
On the night of the fires last year, the hotel’s Director of Safety and Security used a satellite phone to contact Maui’s Emergency Management Agency and the Acting Governor Sylvia Luke.
MORE: Maui Wildfires Disaster One Year Later
“We couldn’t communicate very well from the west side to anywhere else in the world without a satellite phone. But I was able to make an LS Lahaina strong and send that out to owners, to guests. We got it on Facebook, and it started catching on... I did it for weeks and weeks and weeks,” said Mark Boettger of the Marriott’s Maui Ocean Club in Kaanapali.
“Labor of love to send this message out, and I’m doing again tonight, on the one year anniversary mark.”
The hotel is also growing a surviving piece of the Lahaina Banyan tree which will eventually be reattached to the actual tree.
It’s one of many ways people are taking part in the re-birth of this beloved town while still mourning their losses.
And a bell rang 102 times Thursday morning at the historic Waiola Church in Lahaina while church members read the names of those who perished.
The more than 200-year-old church burned in the fire but members vow to rebuild the sacred site.
The Maui Fire Department also stood at attention for a moment of silence, to honor the 102 lives lost in the disaster.
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