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Much of historic Lahaina (Maui, HI) believed destroyed as huge wildfire sends people fleeing into water. Update: 115 killed so far
- Thread starter Mcfrank
- Start date
Try this...
You can also donate to the Maui Food Bank:
mauifoodbank.org
and to the Maui Humane Society:
Maui Food Bank — Helping the Hungry in Maui County
Maui Food Bank helps to provide hunger relief to those in need by collecting and distributing food to organizations and agencies throughout Maui County.
mauifoodbank.org
and to the Maui Humane Society:
Not yet, the fire is still burning in the unincorporated areas around the Lahaina Civic Center, just about a mile away directly from Ka'anapali.
Everyone who wants to donate, check if your employer has a charitable matching program. You can effectively double your donation that way. It's what I just did.
DAMN
mauinow.com
Lahaina Front Street photo journey: West Maui wildfire aftermath | Maui Now
A devastating wildfire sparked by gusty winds from a passing hurricane, left Maui's Lahaina Town in an unrecognizable state. The popular tourist destination in the historic district of West Maui was described in media reports as being "flattened by fire" with businesses gutted and cars...
mauinow.com
So it looks like the fires are contained enough so that they're going to let residents back into the West Side starting at noon today. Lahaina Town proper is still totally off-limits, but residents who live past Lahaina will be able to get back to their houses and families.
Search-and-rescue teams are on the ground and working in Lahaina right now, there'll probably be another death toll update today and it'll probably be big.
EDIT: The midday update brings the death toll to 67.
Search-and-rescue teams are on the ground and working in Lahaina right now, there'll probably be another death toll update today and it'll probably be big.
EDIT: The midday update brings the death toll to 67.
Last edited:
Feels shitty because states like Hawaii would have more money for wildfire prevention if billionaires paid taxes. Instead we get stories today about how officials "underestimated" wildfire danger, but buried in the story is the truth: funds were inadequate.
If only there was some way to prevent this.
There has been an ongoing argument for over a decade now about fire mitigation in the wilder unincorporated areas of islands like Maui and the Big Island, usually ending up in phrases like "too expensive", and "logistically difficult". Here on Maui we have a pretty large brush fire every few years, but up until a few days ago they've always been in places away from population centers.
A fire of this magnitude was going to happen sooner or later, climate change made that a reality. And the state and local governments have been ignoring the issue, because it's not sexy and would have cost a lot of money and time. Maybe some changes will happen now but I'm not holding my breath.
A fire of this magnitude was going to happen sooner or later, climate change made that a reality. And the state and local governments have been ignoring the issue, because it's not sexy and would have cost a lot of money and time. Maybe some changes will happen now but I'm not holding my breath.
is it really the case that they didn't have the funds or chose to use funds for other projects? if officials didn't feel the need to fund more fire mitigation then all the money in the world wouldn't have made a difference. unfortunately politicians many times only choose to do something after something bad happens.
Roads were open for about 4 hours before they had to be shut down again because people were driving in, parking, and then walking into the fire zones. After a number of people were escorted back out by police and National Guard, they shut everything down because more were doing the same thing.
Man, we've been to that Banyan tree multiple times. Maui has always been our favorite island...I hope they can recover from this.
Anyone whose visited or done vacation should frankly be embarrassed. People have lost their homes, jobs, and their history. It's not just some place that exists to fulfill your tropical fantasy. So many people commenting about their vacation and how beautiful and sad this is - cringe 100%
OP
OP
This is nonsense. People are allowed to be sad about the destruction of a place which was special to them because they vacationed there. Human beings link special occasions and travel, so many travel destinations carry great meaning to the people who visit them. Literally no one in this thread is devaluing the loss of human life, homes, or jobs by pointing out that they enjoyed visiting a truly special place. The only thing that is cringe is your post.
A lot of what I'm saying can be applied to any place where you are not a local and chose to treat places like your vacation spots without any thought to the residents. Residents who I work with and are literally telling me there is little respect for the land - and nothing given back to the places that provided memories, because thoughts and prayers are never enough if you're financially fluid enough to help.
Again, no one cares about your vacation — its not about you.
What are you trying to accomplish with these posts, exactly?
Pissing on people with empathy for humans showing empathy with vague posts about not doing it "right" or not living there
OP
OP
No one in this thread is putting their vacation above the suffering or needs of the local residents. The only thing in this thread that is making things about themselves seems to be you and your attempt at an edgy position.
Honestly, just stating a frustration thats been communicated by constituents I work with. I don't want to walk back on my original post, but why I feel so strongly about this stems from lack of care I've seen in similarly militarization of land such as Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Palestine…
I understand. I grew up on Oahu. But I hope you can see that for most here, there's little substance to what they can do. I don't think there's any real harm to expressing sadness even if you perceive it as too personal to the poster as true outsiders to what is happening, yeah?
I think especially for an area like Front St, which anyone who has been to Maui has visited, it's pretty natural to share those memories and ultimately harmless.
Maui Fires People Locator is out there for anyone that has friends or family they have been unable to get ahold of yet.
First and foremost I want to acknowledge the grace you've given me. I admit I don't know if the aggression I've given is it the right approach - but after years of attempting normalization of injustices - the responses I'm reading now feel quite empty.
OP
OP
My advice you are free to ignore, you dont have to solve all the worlds problems in your response to a tragedy. You can just be sad and thats okay (which is what many people are expressing)
No worries. I hope I didn't come across as patronizing. You have never struck me as a person that would post something like that for performative reasons. I believe your frustration is authentic and your point of view sounds unique and more developed than most here.
As someone who lives in Hawaii and is part Hawaiian. I have no problem with people commenting on their vacation here and sending their empathy. I see a lot of posts on Instagram stories from locals speaking their displeasure with it though.
I do have a problem with people still wanting to come on their vacation at this time.
I do have a problem with people still wanting to come on their vacation at this time.
Maui fire: Death toll climbs to 80
People try to reach towns devastated by wildfires, as questions mount over whether locals were warned fast enough.
www.bbc.com
Let people grieve for their memories.
It's harmless.
Such a waste of aggression that does nothing.
Anyway.
Our economy here is going to suffer greatly as sure we always have a slight side-eye towards tourists but that is the symbiotic/parasitic relationship that keeps our island moving. It's going to be a crazy couple of years. We definitely need to stop the flow right now, no need for bodies that are going to take up resources for those in actual need.
I saw that Jeff Bezos "donated" money for the recovery efforts over the years. I don't know how that's going to help right now though.
Same with Oprah. Saw she made an appearance and gave people pillows. Great.
Open up your fucking massive acres of land and the private road you built.
I'm worried at wide-eyed developers salivating at the prospect of rebuilding a "historic" Lahaina town though. There needs to be some oversight here to make sure we don't lose this spot to even more commercialization.
It's harmless.
Such a waste of aggression that does nothing.
Anyway.
Our economy here is going to suffer greatly as sure we always have a slight side-eye towards tourists but that is the symbiotic/parasitic relationship that keeps our island moving. It's going to be a crazy couple of years. We definitely need to stop the flow right now, no need for bodies that are going to take up resources for those in actual need.
I saw that Jeff Bezos "donated" money for the recovery efforts over the years. I don't know how that's going to help right now though.
Same with Oprah. Saw she made an appearance and gave people pillows. Great.
Open up your fucking massive acres of land and the private road you built.
I'm worried at wide-eyed developers salivating at the prospect of rebuilding a "historic" Lahaina town though. There needs to be some oversight here to make sure we don't lose this spot to even more commercialization.
Oprah's private road goes right through the middle of the island, right? Or is that Kauai? That sure would be helpful.
It's Maui. Given that she's opened that road up during wildfire situations in the past for people to use, I see no reason she wouldn't now if it was called for.
Guaranteed that that all the rebuilding will benefit rich white folks coming to retire there instead of Native Hawaiians.
Studies have shown that well off folks always gain during disasters. It's fucked.
The specter of a New Lahaina filled with luxury condos/hotels is gross to contemplate.
I hope at the very least there is zoning for nothing taller than 3 stories or something, but I fear a "charming" Lahaina isn't in the cards.
