Exactly 1 year after Maui wildfire disaster, a community still grieves while moving forward
LAHAINA (HawaiiNewsNow) - On Aug. 8, 2023, wildfires fueled by hurricane-force winds raged across Maui, killing 102 people and decimating an entire community.
Thursday marks exactly one year since the nation’s deadliest wildfire disaster in the United States in more than a century — and a community in mourning continues to move forward while also looking back.
The first fire on Aug. 8 ignited shortly after midnight in Kula, an area with limited resources to battle the flames.
Two dozen homes and structures burned to the ground, but the fire danger was far from over.
Another fire broke out around 6:35 a.m. in West Maui, near Lahaina Intermediate School.
It didn’t spread far and was contained a few hours later. But by 3 p.m. in the same location, another fire flared up. And this one was moving fast.
Flames eventually jumped the Lahaina Bypass — a key exit out of town.
MAUI WILDFIRES DISASTER: ONE YEAR LATER
There was chaos. Power poles and lines were down, complicating the mad rush to escape. But no siren sounded to warn of the emergency.
Police officers rushed through neighborhoods to evacuate and rescue as many people as they could.
The wind-whipped blaze barreled towards Front Street. Everywhere people turned, there were flames.
Some jumped into the ocean, hoping the water would provide protection.
The smoke was so dark and dense, it turned the afternoon into night.
Everyone who made it out watched their beloved town burn from afar. But more than a 100 people didn’t survive.
The fire burned through the night. As the smoke finally began to clear the next morning, Hawaii — and the rest of the world — saw for the first time that the Lahaina everyone once knew was gone.
The impact of last year’s wildfires has touched everyone on Maui.
Changes have been made since, but there’s still so much left to do.
It’s been said to move forward, you must also be willing to look back.
The memories of last August may be painful but are important lessons as we all look to the future.
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