The beautiful island of Maui has been hammered by wildfires. Three, to be exact:
The West Maui wildfire tore through the historic town of Lahaina last week. Historic Front Street was decimated. The pictures I've seen online make the place look like a war zone. The body count is up to 100 as of today, making it the most lethal fire in the U.S. in a century. Many people were caught with little to no warning to evacuate, and many in Lahaina have lost both their homes and places of employment.
My Mom and Dad lived in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island for years, and would take trips to other parts of Hawaii. Their favorite destination was Hilo, on the other side of the island, but they also went to Kauai, Pearl Harbor, and in October 2009 they visited Maui. Here are some pictures from that trip:
Lahaina:
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| Mom in Lahaina Town. |
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| One of three boats they saw on their trip that were sunk or run aground. |
Haleakala Volcano:
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| Elevation 10,000' per my Dad's note on the back. |
Makawao:
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| "Great shops!" according to Mom. |
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| My Mom never met a fake cow she didn't like. |
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| Note the cowboy boots. |
Kahului Harbor:
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| Beautiful boat run aground in Kahului Harbor. Dad's note: "OOOPS again!" |
No note about where in Maui this was taken, but my Mom did note that it was the "Third ship we saw in trouble."
Mom at what is described only as "a viewpoint":
There are not words to describe the devastation to this paradise. To make things worse, being an island, they're cut off from communications and assistance that people on the mainland could count on. I believe they did fly tourists off the island within the past couple of days. Right now we can donate and pray, and hope for the best for so many people who have lost everything through no fault of their own. And even if that's all you can do, it shows more care than some people have for this tragedy.
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