 |
| A sign of hope in Lahaina, Hawaii, destroyed by a deadly wildfire on this date in 2023 Top photo is the badly scorched enormous banyan tree in Lahaina immediately after the fire. Bottom photo is what the rejuvenated tree looks like now, |
It laid to waste a historic tourist city, and it's still just starting to try to bounce back.
The tragedy is another cautionary tale - much like the slow fire recovery in destroyed towns like Paradise, California - that tells us once a community burns down in a wildfire, the comeback is incredibly slow.
Even worse, the same places burned in previous wildfires are at risk for getting hit again.
DIFFICULT RECOVERY
The lead paragraphs in an August 5 Hawaii Public Radio piece tells the continued sad story:
"Two years after the fire, Maui survivors still face challenges with housing, insurance, FEMA assistance, building permits and a laundry list of other obstacles. Under the surface, many survivors are mentally struggling right now - and they're not alone."
The University of Hawaii's Maui Wildlife Exposure Study says almost half the adults in their mental health research said almost half of the adults are still living in temporary housing and a quarter remain unemployed despite trying to find work.
Home rebuilding is only now getting under way in Lahaina. Hawaii Public Radio says hundreds of homes are now under construction, but only 45 have been completed so far. An additional 450 building permits have been issued, and more than 300 are being processed.
The time consuming process of rebuilding is expensive. Many are still paying a mortgage on their destroyed homes, and simultaneously paying rent elsewhere. Here's an example Hawaii Public Radio provides:
"Fire survivor Jeremy DelosReyes and his wife, Gracie, have poured the cement foundation of their new home He's constructing their own rebuild, but it's been a financial struggle - and they didn't qualify for FEMA assistance.
'I had a 2,200 square foot house.... At $500 a square foot, my house is going to cost me $1.2 million. I have $400,000 of insurance. I pay $4,000 a month in rent. I got to come up with $6,000 just to cover my mortgage and rent.'"
Lahaina residents are also trying to build more fire-resistant houses, which are more expensive that older styles. For instance. a metal roof could cost $30,000 more than older style roofs,
The main business district on Front Street was obliterated in the fire. The debris was cleaned up, and then.....nothing. The future of that area of Lahaina is still up in the air.
The wildfire claimed about 800 business and 7,000 jobs. Only one business has reopened: The Hi Surf Club Maui, operating out of donated van where the original building once stood on Breakwall Beach, according to KHON.
The shell of the building that used to house Fleetwood's On Front Street, s a popular restaurant owned by Fleetwood Mac found Mick Fleetwood, recently announced they plan to rebuild and reopen in 2026.
NEW FIRE SCARE
I imagine pretty much everyone in Lahaina still has PTSD from that fire. So it had to be frightening when a new wildfire broke out Monday near Lahaina.
It spread over hills around Kaanapali, about two miles north of Lahaina, closing down a highway and forcing about 50 people to evacuate.
Unlike the tragedy of 2023, this time, firefighters gained the upper hand and extinguished the fire with any homes being lost. The fire did burn through 33 acres.
BANYAN TREE
One of the biggest potential losses in Lahaina during the fire was an immense banyan tree that was left entire blackened and scorched in the fire.
The historic tree was planted by Sheriff William Owen Smith in 1873 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first Protestant missionaries in Lahaina..
Immediately after the fire, arborists examine the tree determined much of it could be saved with a lot to TLC.
The result, two years after the fire, is a thriving banyan tree, as KHON tells us:
"'It's really, really healthy,' explained Duane Parkman, arborist committee chair and Treecovery Lahaina president. 'We're super stoked to see as much growth as we've seen in the past year and a half. We've seen aerial roots coming down from almost 20 feet high, and they're almost touching the ground already. There's so much fruit - it's become a habitat again. It's a thriving tree system."
The tree isn't open to the public yet, as some branches are still unstable, but they'll strengthen up. Replacement benches are being replaced beneath the tree. The banyan is the Lahaina gathering place, especially since it's about ten degrees cooler beneath the tree than elsewhere under the hot Hawaiian sun.
The hope is the banyan, the centerpiece of Lahaina, is a premonition of a future town - one that might be a lot different than the old one, but thriving anyway.
No comments:
Post a Comment