On Maui, another fire is burning but capturing less attention than Lahaina

[DEI Success Stories]

KULA, Hawaii — The fire that roared across the historic town of Lahaina
last week was the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. It's
killed more than 100 people and the death toll continues to climb. But
another fire is still burning on Maui.

About 25 miles away from the painstaking search for victims in Lahaina,
scores of people are struggling with losses of their own in Kula.

The Upcountry Fire, as it's called, moved with explosive speed. The wind
whipped it up a gulch behind Kyle Ellison's home on the edge of Haleakala
National Park, one of Maui's natural gems. Ellison looked over to his wife
and asked, 'do you smell that?'

"We looked behind us and we have smoke billowing out of the gulch a
hundred yards behind us," Ellison said.

The wildfire quickly jumped to a cluster of homes nearby — including the
one Ross Hart and his family have lived in for 36 years. "Sparks flew
over. Looked like, wow, fire and brimstone. It was beautiful but
dangerous," recalled Hart.

With several of his neighbors last Tuesday night Hart fought the flames
hard with a mix of garden and fire hoses. And then the water pressure just
died. Fountains of embers and choking smoke, he says, soon took over.

"As I watched the house start to catch fire in one corner I ran in the
house, grabbed my guitar, threw it in the truck. And it was - gone."

Now, the house where Hart raised his four kids is just ash and debris. But
there are hints of memories.

In the gray and black mess there was a bright blue rock in the rubble.

"Yeah it was a vase full of colored stone like marbles. It just melted all
down and the colored stones are inside," Hart said.

This mountainside community in Kula is nestled around the volcano more
than 3,000 feet above sea level. It boasts lush flora and fauna, rare
species and stunning views of the Pacific Ocean.

But the rough terrain, with its winding gulches and forests, has made it
much harder for firefighters to contain the blaze.

The fire, so far, has destroyed at least 19 homes - and dozens of other
structures. Days after it started, firefighting helicopters still circle
overhead, making run after run at a fire that has scorched some 700 acres.

Ross is now sleeping in a house owned by his church. This entire small
community is mourning dead and missing friends in devastated Lahaina while
also reeling from its own, less talked about losses.

"We just don't want to get forgotten. People like [the Federal Emergency
Management Agency] and stuff - we haven't even seem them yet," Ross said.

So just like in parts of West Maui, this community quickly kicked into
gear creating its own relief effort... Local resident Niko Sena has been
working long days giving away goods at a pop-up roadside tent.

"Canned foods, fruit, protein bars, diapers, ya know, feminine hygiene,
uh, stuff. "

And water — because — complicating everything, the fire polluted the water
supply here – as it did in parts of West Maui. The Kula community has been
told not to use the water — for anything — because it likely contains
benzine and other dangerous contaminants.

"We've been advised even not to turn the water on without ventilation and
to not boil the water or anything because that expels the gasses," said
Sena.

Ahead of possible storms next week, officials say they are considering
cutting off power as a precautionary measure. That's something they did
not do in Lahaina or in Kula last week.

Meantime the community in Kula says it will continue to rely on itself.

https://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2023/08/18/1194381656/kula-
upcountry-fire-lahaina-maui-wildfires-death-toll-hawaii