Reviving Lahaina: A Story of Resilience
The morning of August 8, 2023, began normal for many Lahaina residence, including long time local and restaurant co-owner David Fincher.
Little did he know that day, Fincher would be running on foot navigating from burning flames, searching for his family, and seeing his restaurant along with his personal home on fire, along with the entire town of Lahaina.
Recalling the fire, Fincher describes looking outside from the top deck of his house, seeing smoke and flames fill what he knows as home.
David Fincher and His Family.
He describes sounds of exploding gas tanks all around the city, seeming like construction noise.
"It was so frequent, I thought that it was fire crews using heavy machinery to dig fire trenches and stuff like BAM, BAM, BAM”
Fincher says.
Lahaina is a small historic beach community located the west coast of Maui, just 1 of 8 major US Hawaiian Islands.
David's Home After the Lahaina Fire.
It’s a popular destination for tourist all around the world, annually hosting around 2-million visitors each year.
Lahaina is known for many fun activities including breath-taking beaches, award winning restaurants and rich Hawaiian culture.
The Lahaina Fire claimed 100 lives and left thousands of residents homeless. Most of Lahaina was turn to ash.
As we approach the 1-year anniversary, the Lahaina community is slowly but surely gearing towards a rebuild.
There are many steps in recovering a town according to Dean Minakami, Executive Director of the Hawaii Housing, Finance and Development Corporation Lahaina is still trying to get residents who lost their home or business, a more stable place to stay.
"Now what's happening, we're trying to transition people out of the hotels and vacation rentals into not permanent, but something that they can stand for a few more years. FEMA is working on that as well as the state, building about several hundred temporary housing units. We'd like to build over a thousand eventually."
David’s view as flames spread in Lahaina at night on August 8 (7:30 p.m.)
David’s view of Lahaina Fire smoke between 5 a.m. - 6 a.m. on August 8.
In an interview, David recalls vividly that day of seeing Lahaina transformed into an inferno.
That day in Lahaina was one of the windiest days in a long time, wind speeds were nearly 80mph with periodic gust possibly hitting 90mph.
"In 1992, I was in South Florida when Hurricane Andrew went through there.
I've seen some pretty heavy category 5 hurricane winds, you know. And this wind to me seemed more intense.”
David describing the severity of the Lahaina wind.
Lahaina is on the west side of Maui, where due to the geological complexity of the island, the east side receives most of the rainfall where the west side is mostly dry clay.
It could be raining on the east side while it is sunny and dry on the west.
To put it into perspective for someone who hasn’t been to Maui, the island is only 48 miles long and 26 miles wide. It’s quite small.
The strong winds and the dry Lahaina land is a recipe for fire risk.
The power had gone out early that morning officials say before the fire even started. Lahaina has stationary tsunami sirens placed around the town. The sound is known to locals for emergency evacuation circumstances. Since the power was out that day, there were no sirens.
Some schools were also canceled that day due to the extreme weather and power outage in the morning. Some children home with no parents since they still had to work.
Satellite view of Lahaina: June 25 (left) and August 9, 2023 (right).
image ©2023 Maxar Technologies
"As the fire spread, everyone was trying to get out any way they could.
The roads were jammed, and it was chaos. I remember seeing people scrambling to save what they could.
There was no official signal to evacuate, which made things worse because the fire was on the hill, where many would have instinctively run to escape a tsunami due to our training. So, we were all making split-second decisions on where to go, which added to the confusion and fear."
David explained how tsunami training, locals are prompt to run up on the hill. There was much confusion during the fire, and nobody knew where to go.
The Lahaina fire was a tragic event that will shape the future of Hawaii forever. It is believed to have caused at least $4 billion in economic losses.
After a long and hard grieving process, many have been working hard in taking steps in rebuilding Lahaina. But one this is for sure; it isn’t going to be easy.
There are many steps in recovering a town according to Dean Minakami, Executive Director of the Hawaii Housing, Finance and Development Corporation and
“We have a long way to go in terms of rebuilding. Right now, they are still in the clearing phase.”
Julian Bonfardin (left) Javier Barberi (middle) David Fincher (right)
Picture Credit: https://www.dthmaui.com/new-page
The three are all co-owners of a Food Network featured restaurant
“Down the Hatch” located in historic town of Lahaina, Hawaii.
The restaurant was sadly lost in the fire.
When we asked Down the Hatch co-owner Julian Bonfardin to speak on the matters, he mentioned that Javier and David would be able to speak more accurately on the circumstances.
Co-Owner Javier Barberi talks about how the fire affected his business and what it means to move forward for Lahaina business owners.
“It was devastating to watch years of hard work go up in smoke.
But it’s not just about our losses. The entire business community here has been deeply affected.”
“Moving forward isn’t just about rebuilding what was lost. It’s about strengthening our community and making our businesses more resilient. We’re considering every option, including relocating parts of our operations to areas like Kaanapali to keep serving our customers and keep our staff employed.
The support from the community has been overwhelming. In the face of such a tragedy, seeing everyone come together has reaffirmed my faith in what we can accomplish together. We’re not just rebuilding businesses; we’re helping rebuild lives.”
Mala Tavern in Lahaina is reopened for business, co-owner Ashley Davis expressed
“It’s nothing short of a miracle that Mala didn’t get burnt in the fire”.
In an interview Ashley expressed the pain of her inner community losing so much due to the fire.
And, how important it has been in showing the Aloha spirit to help others heal.
“We were really in awe of the fact that our building survived, while so much around us was destroyed.
It's given us a renewed sense of gratitude and a deep commitment to help rebuild and support our community in whatever way we can."
Picture credit: Island News, https://www.kitv.com
This quote reflects her astonishment and gratitude that her business was spared, which contrasts deeply with the wide devastation experienced by many others in Lahaina.
With Ashley Davis, David Fincher and Javier Barberi also co-owners of Mala.
David Fincher added his thoughts on the future and the next steps for rebuilding after the Lahaina fire.
“We’ve got a long road ahead, but I believe Lahaina’s spirit of resilience will guide us.
We need to think about how we can make our community stronger, safer, and ready for whatever the future might hold.”
There is a long road ahead in healing Lahaina and the local community has hope.
The true essence in Lahaina lies not in its buildings, but in the resilient, “Aloha”, spirit of its people. Together, they will shape a new chapter of their beloved town, drawing inspiration from the past and embracing the promise of tomorrow.
Photo is of David’s neighbor’s yard.