‘Lahaina Strong’ in the aftermath of Maui wildfires
It’s been less than two weeks since wildfires devastated communities in western Maui. In this time, WCK teams have provided more than 40,000 nourishing meals to people in the hardest-hit areas of the Hawaiian island. Over half of those meals have gone to families in Lahaina, a coastal town that was completely engulfed by fire.
Residents of Lahaina—a community with a history as deep as the roots of its famed banyan tree—are still assessing the scale of destruction and food needs remain acute. We are providing thousands of meals daily for lunch and dinner at a centralized distribution site and delivering door to door where needed. Our distribution site sits at a location where neighbors had already been meeting to offer one another support—the area has become a hub where a variety of organizations are offering different forms of aid for residents in need. Families stopping by to grab a meal from WCK can then also access medical services, pet supplies, even get a haircut from other groups.
In the aftermath of the fire, the residents of Lahaina, Maui, and Hawaiʻi at large have rallied around one another, working quickly to meet the needs of their neighbors and friends. WCK has been working alongside community partners, many directly impacted themselves, to ensure our meals reach anyone in need.
Local partners have provided invaluable knowledge that is helping guide our response in this tight-knit community. We invite you to learn more about two Maui natives, Mark and Harold, who, despite incredible loss, are showing up every day to support their neighbors.
Mark
Where are you from?
I grew up in Lahaina and I was born on Maui, at the only hospital which is Maui Memorial Hospital. And most of my life, I lived here. I grew up off of Kapunakea, and I moved away for about twelve years, but I’ve been back here since about 2004.
What was Lahaina like when you were young?
Back in the days, it was basically an old whaling town. We only had one street light, you know, traffic was mild, our phones were all dialing [landline] phones. And eventually it came to be what it is today. But, you know, it’s still a nice place. Like I always told everybody—Maui means Maui nō ka ‘oi, “Maui is the best” in English. That’s the saying for the Hawaiian word.
What is your family history in Lahaina?
My mom actually was born in a house here in Lahaina back in the early thirties. And then my wife, her dad is originally from here. Her grandparents started Pioneer Inn, which is right by the harbor. My dad was raised on the other side of the island, but they met and then they eventually moved here.
And my dad worked at a sugar cane company before he retired, so he worked there for like 40 years. My mom worked at the pineapple cannery in Lahaina for like fifteen cents an hour. But, you know, that was probably back in the fifties. And I used to play there and we used to run through the buildings. Later, she worked at the high school. She was a baker at the school for like 35 years.
How were you impacted by the fire?
Yeah, we lost everything… My kids don’t want to go back to the house right now because all they picture is a nice home with a bedroom, bed and all, and they’re going to go back to rubble.
What has given you hope in the aftermath?
What’s going on right now, you can see that the community comes together for everybody. And it’s always been like that. You know, if somebody was in need of something, if somebody needed to build or needed something to move, they’re always there. It’s not about paying. It’s about helping.
Although I lost everything, I feel that the whole island has come together, the whole state of Hawaiʻi and I don’t know, even maybe the world, because we’re getting help from all over. Living on an island, it takes time to get things. But now, if you look at it, everything is getting done immediately. Even though the roads are closed, people still can survive because they’re getting food, water and everything, even gasoline, propane. A lot of people, if they couldn’t get this, they wouldn’t make it.
I want everybody who lost everything to have a chance to rebuild and to get their life back.
Mark
Lahaina local and WCK volunteer
Harold
Tell us about yourself.
I’m Harold, I’m from Kahului. I work at the Hyatt Regency Maui, I’ve been there for 27 years. Been coming to this side longer than that because this was the side of the island to come to, you know?
Where were you when the fire reached Lahaina?
We were at the Hyatt when it happened ‘cause we were working. We got a room there, we couldn’t get home. And just watching the fire through my balcony, and it was just a glow from far away. Later on, you see it was coming closer, like this big monster just coming towards you. Then you could just see the flames. It wasn’t just a glow, it was flames. Now, when you can see the flames, they’re close. So, I mean, people were panicking in the hotel. Just to see that coming. Yeah, I can’t even…it was scary.
What impacts did you see afterwards?
Me and my son Kody were trapped on that side of the island for two days. We couldn’t get home. And we just saw how much devastation it did. This was the worst fire I’ve ever seen. I personally have like seven or eight friends at work that lost their houses. My two aunties on this side, they lost their houses. You know, it’s just it’s close, it’s really close to home.
How have you seen the community respond?
People that live in Lahaina take care of each other, you know, they really try and help each other out. Not just in Lahaina, but it’s just how we are in Hawaiʻi. When somebody needs help, we help. It’s the aloha spirit, the aloha state. That’s what we do, you know. I mean, even other islands they’re bringing the firefighters, they’re bringing the first responders up from the other islands. Everybody’s coming together, this is just unbelievable. I really like it, this is really good.
What made you decide to work alongside WCK?
Actually, I just heard about you guys a week ago. I mean, you guys are fast, you guys were here quick. I was just driving around one day and we’re like, we want to help out. So the next morning one of my friends called and asked me if I wanted to join volunteering and I said yeah. And my son, Kody, wanted to join too. So then we came in and have been here ever since, every day ever since then.
And then my other son, my middle son, wanted to help, too. So he came out yesterday and today. He’s with my sister driving the box truck. So, we have four of us family helping.
When somebody needs help, we help. It’s the aloha spirit, the aloha state. That’s what we do, you know.
Harold
Maui local and WCK distribution site lead
Learn more about our efforts here. For real-time updates, follow WCK on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
