As the Maui fires come to an end, the time has come to rebuild, but there are many factors that impede the effort. Maui, known for being a popular vacation spot and a part of the Hawaiian islands, has gone through one of the worst fires it has ever seen. It started with a downed power line that was owned by the Hawaii Electric Company. The company reportedly did not turn off the powerline, and with the increased heat and wind speed, the fires that started were pushed towards the Lahaina area killing 97 people and causing terrible damage. 

I am Hawaiian, and my ancestry is both native and Japanese though I now live here in California. I spend all my vacation time with my Hawaiian family in Kauai. During COVID-19, I even went to high school on that island in 2021.

 This past summer, I spent my summer break in Kauai and previously planned to go to Maui for a wedding when suddenly the horrific fire broke out and everything changed. I still went to attend the wedding but what I saw when I walked out of the gate was terrible. The scene was reminiscent of an apocalyptic movie, most of the tourists visiting were already trying to jump on to any available flight and many were either sleeping on the ground or on seats around the airport. Heading towards the baggage claim area, many firefighters from different islands and states passed me with cadaver dogs behind them. 

Outside the airport, people slept in sleeping bags under the palm trees on the airport grounds. I then drove up to my aunt’s house in the Eastern part of the island. The fire was under control, but the damage was already done. We could still hear the sirens and see the lights, which was spooky, knowing what had happened. I had arrived at my aunt’s house with two boxes of relief supplies from Kauai to drop off. We went ahead with the wedding in the strange atmosphere. We Hawaiians have been through a lot, but we are resilient. At the wedding, they had a talk and we bowed our heads for the people of Lahaina and we moved on. My cousins had put a lot of effort into the day and we needed to celebrate what we could. 

Often I feel uncomfortable commenting on Hawaiian issues because of my cross-cultural background as I mostly grew up here in Sunnyvale. Hawaiians have had enough of outsiders dictating to them the fate of their islands. I feel strongly that I can use my position as someone who has a dual perspective to call out some of the forces that led to this tragedy. Sadly, this fire was not a natural event in the history of these islands. Hawaii before colonization was made of wetlands, but the entire landscape has changed due to mass farming for profits by colonizers that changed the ecology of the environment and made it susceptible to fires. 

Additionally, as land speculators are always trying to find room to build their companies, the fires has sped up their progress. Before the ashes had settled, the Lahaina people were being called up by real estate agents who wanted them to sell land that had been in their families forever. Hawaii is a perfect place for Asian and U.S. companies to operate as they have easy access to the U.S. and Asia. It is looked at as good business. But has any of this ever benefited the native people?

When I left the day after the wedding, the chaos in the airport had died down as the people who were vacationing were gone at that point. I remain in close contact with my family on the islands. My aunt tells me that everyone is still in shock and there are still people at the memorial but also that people have stepped up from other states to help out and that is appreciated.Many families are suffering and there are many companies who see personal gains for profit instead of helping out. There are plenty of families that cannot afford to rebuild and might not recover from this. There has been a huge cultural loss as Lahaina was a town with a lot of history. 

As the fires have long ended it still seems that locals face another problem. Not only finding the money and resources to rebuild it is also vulnerable to big companies. You can also help by donating to charities like the Red Cross and others in hopes to help and leave Hawaii in Hawaiian hands.