Maui Wildfires Disaster: One Year Later

Published 2024-08-07
Exactly one year ago this week, wind-whipped wildfires tore through Maui, decimating Lahaina and forever changing the landscape of the historic community. To mark the anniversary, Hawaii News Now presents a special documentary — showcasing stories from survivors, efforts to rebuild and how the community can move forward.

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All Comments (19)
  • @farmlyful
    Let’s not forget the malicious incompetence on behalf of the so called authorities. They are all dirty.
  • @Kumukarl
    Grieving today. This video helps. Yeah Simione, “we walk by faith not fear” 🙌🤙. My house burned down, lost everything two days before my wedding. Moved off island last Sept. But my parents/fam stayed and are rebuilding. Lahaina will always be home and will rebuild stronger. God comfort those who need comforting as some lost way more than material things and provide so everyone can rebuild and return home if it’s in your will. God bless Lahaina. I miss you and love you! #lahainastrong
  • @user-zf4bg6qo1y
    30 million for US citizens, 300 billion for Ukraine, Americans first
  • @Josephine-sm2db
    Since when does a hurricane 600 miles away only affect specific sections of Maui?
  • @MGAFFY
    The way law enforcement handled this situation (threatening home owners and journalists) is fucking disgusting and they should all resign in disgrace.
  • All businesses need to be closed on 8-8 as a sign of respect. If you are an employee of a business that does not close on Thursday take the day off out of respect for the dead and the thousands that lost everything but their lives. This needs to be a Maui holiday forever!
  • @user-rh8fl8qz2z
    The SMART ones have MOVED ON and MOVED AWAY. Too many BAD VIBES.
  • @Josephine-sm2db
    Akulele, fireballs? Fire came out of no where? Could feel the heat? And where was Bissen?
  • The Maui officials who were responsible for the pain, the trapping, the illegal barricading, the abandonment of whole neighborhoods who were never warned, and never evacuated and then abandoned where they burned in their cars and they burned in the streets, 42 innocent people on one street and still no justice, still no criminal investigation. Now the residents have to still.be forced to live under the control of the same lying criminal officials who failed to do their job, who grossly and negligently responded to the emergency as they responded abnormally, oddly, in a weird suspicious complacency with absolutely none of the officials following any type of normal emergency response protocol. Here we are, one year later,, and still no criminal investigation!!!!!! Unreal in the face of so much criminality. Criminals protecting criminals, this is what we have one year later.😢
  • @D8099.
    There could be Billions pouring into this recovery effort. If only Hawaiian Americans didn’t openly hate American Mainlanders so much. When I vacationed there I was actually quite scared to look them in the eye. They let me know I was absolutely NOT Welcome. I traveled the world and never felt that way anywhere else on the planet. I’ve traveled to all South American countries that they say are so dangerous and I still would say Hawaii felt the most unsafe. I’ve been to all Hawaii’s islands, hoping one was better than the other in this regard, it wasn’t. It’s intentional and they make sure that hate is passed on culturally.
  • August 8, 2023, When the noon 2:55 pm fire erupted, Maui Police Chief Pelletier failed to immediately stop all incoming southbound traffic on Hwy 30 from points north (from Kaanapali.down). He allowed a non-stopped uncontrolled barrage of southbound traffic to head right straight for the fire and the critical intersection of Front St. Hwy 30 and Fleming, (the one and only evacuation exit) where the towns people on Front St were frantically trying to escape the deadly fast moving oncoming firestorm!! Instead, Pelletier orchestrated the incoming traffic onto collision course with the fleeing towns people in cars on Front Street, creating a congestion block, so people could not escape! While police officers turned the incoming traffic back around north, they stopped and intermittently blocked Front Street, illegally holding the people back as hostages in a fire trap, as Front Street backed up into a nightmare standstill!! And Even though Pelletier knew full and well the town had only one evacuation escape exit at Front Street, Highway 30 and Fleming, he failed to immediately open up and contraflow highway 30 North so the people could quickly evacuate!!!!! Let me remind you this is a police chief who has 23 years experience in traffic control!! He knew how to contraflow and how to move traffic. He also failed to contraflow Front St so traffic could move quickly onto Hwy 30 North. He then further created more impediment and blockage from escape by cutting off and blocking another additional safe escape route out during the critical time of need! He intentionally ordered a firm two hour non-moveable block and road closure of Kapanukea Street off of Front St., where stationed an officer to purposely block the towns people escape! By doing this, He purposely cut off and blocked the Cannery Malls safe escape route out for two hours! Two hours is a long period of time to illegally hold and trap evacuees into a gridlocked parking lot, that had no possible exit. (Front Street was non-enterable due to congestion). This two hour trap went on in conjunction with the other road block on Front Sreet. At 4:53 pm, Pelletier alleges police officers led scores of cars out north on Front Street, right or east on Kapanukea on out to Hwy 30 North! The thing is, this escape route exit had always been safe to traverse and escape on, because if it was safe at 4:53 pm then of course, it had been safe at 2:50 pm! He stationed his own officer there directly next to the lines he claimed would electrocute, but Pelletier knew power was off and besides, these deenergized power lines lay north of the intersection, which never had impeded passage out!!!! The cutting off of this critical escape route on Kapanukea blocked and impeded the fleeing people in cars on Front Street who were unnecessarily and illegally blocked here too! Pelletier purposely orchestrated a Double blocked blockade which obstructed people from escape, as he purposely never opened up and contraflowed the only exit out while using a bombardment of incoming traffic to block the people's escape, which caused the deadly chain reaction gridlock and death trap where people were trapped in the fire storm, where they were incinerated, where they died in the streets as they ran for their lives, and drowned from exhaustion and suffocation in the frigid cold ocean waters that had high waves and strong tow. Locals testify they saw many charred bodies in burnt up cars on Front St. And saw many bodies floating and several deceased children who Pelletier never documented and claimed deceased! Pelletier also never took proactive steps to clear the towns southern escape route and he let this crucial evacuation route lot for 12 hours, making the trap in the fire even more deadly. Pelletier used his orders, his officers, his nose to nose cop cars, his blockades and cones and a barrage of uncontrolled incoming traffic to BLOCK and TRAP the people of Lahaina into a death trap!!with all of these accumulated irresponsible, grossly negligent and intentional actions, why, why, why has he not been investigated???? Why is he still working as the towns police chief in light of all this damning evidence against him?????? He, who caused an irresponsible and intentional Death Trap on August 8, 2023. 😢😢😢😢