News from Maui. . . Tuesday Aug 8th

Tuesday, August 8th, 2024

Friends and family started texting about the Maui wildfires. We were in Kyoto at the time and rained out of doing anything because of a huge storm. Kids were doing homeschooling and screen time while Scot and I planned our next move on the trip. I forgot what time it was exactly, but I heard my phone notification go off. It was a friend in Kula who was letting me know that a fire had just been reported around the corner from our house. We were at the end of a year-long renovation, where we totally gutted and leveled most of our house to create our new forever home.

More concerning than our home, however, was the safety of our neighbors and friends. I started reaching out to friends and neighbors and learned that the fire had started in Olinda and had rapidly spread. The Kula fire had started a bit later, and people were not sure if they were related. The winds were devastating and were an obvious contributor to the spread of fire. Social media outlets and the news were sharing spotty and some incorrect information, so, frustrated, I decided to give it rest and try to get some shut-eye. In the middle of the night, I woke and read about the start of the Lahaina fires and stayed awake, feeling helpless and worrying about the people and island of Maui.

We were home a couple of weeks after the fire for a short time. I was encouraged by all the community outreach and help, but so very saddened by all the loss and devastation that the island was healing from. It's still difficult to put into words all of the mixed emotions - happy we still had a home, but in grief for those who had lost loved ones and their homes; frustrated at all of the arguing and fighting and angry at those who were trying to take advantage and profit from the tragedy. Grateful for all of the support that we were offered and feeling helpless in wanting to do more for others.

We all continue. . . 

(It is now 10 months after the Maui fires and I am just updating some of these blogs that were scheduled to post around that time.)