This is so tragic and heartbreaking. Hard to believe that a place like Lahaina where we've spent time when staying at the Hyatt up the road from Lahaina is essentially destroyed. It is a a historic community as well as charming. For people that are not familiar with Hawaii or with Maui, one of the issues is that there is limited road system because of the volcanic mountains so in most places, only one road in and out.

We stayed there as well. Now I wonder if it’s still there.

6 people are confirmed dead. Hospitals are full of burn victims. In my local paper - fire on the Front Street in Lahaina. 911 down.

My friend and I always stayed at the Hyatt. We LOVE that area. We spent a lot of time in Lahaina, the beautiful art galleries, great restaurants, and having breakfast on the Swan Court at the Hyatt each morning is just the most peaceful way to begin a day. I am so sorry the fire seems to be heading up country. I've also spent a lot of time in Paia and Makewao. We used to go to a retreat very close to there. We have been talking about a trip back next year. I'm crushed.

I just had my post pulled for moderation. ????????? It's about the fire on Maui. Really bad. Hadn't posted for a bit and THAT certainly gives me a bad taste.

No one pulled your post for moderation. As has been explained many times over many months, the spam filter moderation queue is a totally automated process over which we have no control. Your post as well as a couple of others on the thread were intercepted. As soon as a moderator signs on, the first thing they do is check the Moderation queue and release any appropriate posts.

Holding a good thought for everyone and everything in the path of these terrible fires. Fire is such a terrifying, destructive, quixotic force of nature.

Same. Loved that place.

Z - my heart is breaking for all living things great and small. We were just waiting to lock in our return to the Villa in upcountry. Thankfully the resident horse has been moved to a place in Haiku which is safer for now. Never been a fan of Lahaina but insisted on doing a Front Street crawl last month. So glad we did as it is a significant historical area before it became a tourist trap. I hear the old Banyon tree is lost. All I can say is it's a white hot mess. Capture what you can, when you can.

I asked about that once. Sometimes the mods post get flagged. It’s random.

Live on Oahu. They are now reporting 6 deaths confirmed. Not a good situation especially as that end of the island is really limited to one road directly back to Kahului and essentially the continuation of that road as a pretty scary coastline road the other way around. The coastal road is carved into the mountains and not one that is used to much traffic, narrow and totally unlit. I have driven it multiple times during the day but never at night. Its sole redeeming aspect would be that doing that way your car is on the inside of the 2 lanes against the mountain but it is pretty windy.

I did check my photos and geocache finds. My wife and I were there in May 2018. I could find the picture of my wife standing next to the small lighthouse. So sad if the Banyan tree is dead. They had a sign posted with the date in the 1800's when it was planted.

We spent our honeymoon in Hawaii nearly 45 years ago. A week on Kauai, and a week on Maui... Our hotel on Kauai was erased by Hurricane Iniki. We hadn't made it back to stay there again, so we made a point of returning to the Pioneer Inn in Lahaina a few times for a couple of nights and dinner at Kimo's. We had a trip booked for October 2020, covid-cancelled, and had recently remembered that we never made that trip. Damn. We'll be making a donation instead.

If you want to support Maui:

https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted...=Y7J26SYUJFQU8 [run by volunteers, focuses on support to vulnerable residents... elderly, disabled, renters, uninsured]

https://www.hawaiicommunityfoundation.org/maui-strong [general response and recovery services]

The usuals: Salvation Army, Red Cross, Humane Society, Maui Food Bank.

So devastating. We have been there many times. I can't believe what happen. I have a friend in Maui now (her two golden retrievers are staying with us). She texted last night that the power was out. I could not get ahold of her this morning. Finally got a text this evening that she drove to OGG via the upper road. Luckily a friend of a friend took her in. Supposed to fly home (SMF) tomorrow. I pray for safety for all of the people in Maui.

Thanks for posting those links Jean. Hawaii was pivotal in our lives before we were married 48 years ago. We returned several times over the years including staying at the Plantation Inn, a block from Front Street. On the wall above me as I type is a large Kim McDonald print that we purchased at Sargent's Fine Art, right on Front Street.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...753df608d3.jpg

It looks like both places may have been destroyed.

There are fewer active hot spots than a few hours ago, but you can see the areas affected.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...cba7e31553.jpg

Unbelievable. So sad.

Woke up to news of 36 confirmed deaths which will likely rise. Heartbroken for the residents of Maui. ​​​​​​

the tree has been reported to have been heavily skortched but not yet gone

and no it is NOT dead at least not yet

I just saw a before and after photo of the tree. As Dukey1 said, it is still standing but scorched. As someone in the article said, time will tell.

It's hard to believe the devastation seen in the photographs. How does the area recover from that kind of destruction? Especially as an area dependent on tourism.