Paradise Burned

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@JimmyinSD said:
I just read that Oprah had started buying up tracts of land in that specific part of Hawaii, and her land was unaffected by the fires. I doubt it's gonna be part of a Christmas giveaway.

Back in 3/23 she added to her land portfolio; buying 870 acres on Maui for > $6mm



https://robbreport.com/lifestyle/news/oprah-winfrey-maui-land-purchase-1234814613/

[Guest]

@Vanguard83 said:

@StickyBun said:
Unfortunately, its sound like their warning systems didn't work and water in hydrants was non-existent. Shame on the folks that were in charge of keeping security hazard measures in place. Not sure it could have been prevented but it seems it could have been greatly mitigated. Tragic.

As many may recall, my family lives on Maui.
As Dora passed us to the South, the winds picked up.  

Many areas in Maui still have power lines hanging from poles (not our neighborhood),
anyway as soon as the first poles went down, Hawaii Electric SHOULD HAVE SHUT OFF THAT GRID. Once power was disrupted, communications went down over there (We are in Kahului)

But there was NEVER one of those annoying “phone alert things”.  We knew nothing of the fires until the morning, watching the news.  Two days later, we DID get one of those notifications - telling us what routes were “CLOSED”

Our neighbor two doors down owns Lahaina Pizza Co., Across the street owns Aloha Hats, BOTH on Front street.  BOTH now just ash. The video most seen of the flames on the right side of the street was Lahaina Pizza Co.  Galleries and jewelry stores, the Banyan tree! The Elementary School all burned. Next door neighbor does the family / newlywed / sunset photography portraits at Hyatt.  All are remaining positive, in light of their business losses.

Maroon is correct the “historic” district was a blast furnace, the fire moved so fast people had to abandon their cars, and jobs and flee to the ocean. the boats in the harbor caught fire, and their fuel tanks ruptured, falling debris ignited the gas on to the surface of the water.  MANY died in the water, initially sinking, bodies have started to float to the surface / retrieved against the sea walls.

Maui memorial has been tasked to try and identify the remains, but the heat was so intense in many instances there is only ash. dental records in many instances are useless - I guess in intense heat the teeth incinerate also.

Any yes, Carpetbaggers are coming out of the woodwork offering to buy the land that the homes were once on for “pennies on the dollar” all while family members are mourning, and many are still missing.  

That said, while all the rich “movie star” folks are yelping “DONT come to Maui” They obviously havent thought it through.  Yes, let us recover for a while...BUT...THEN VISITORS NEED TO COME.  Lahaina is only a fraction of this beautiful island, South Maui, Hana, Iao, Kapalua, Heleakala, waterfalls, golf, fishing, dining, hikes, bikes....We need you here.

its not bad enough the destruction, but now, IF NO ONE COMES, YOURE PUTTING PEOPLE OUT OF WORK ALSO.  There is more to Maui than Lahaina, and for most folks who come here, Lahaina is an afternoon shopping, dining, etc. OTHERWISE, lounge at the pool, enjoy your day at the beach, dine in Kihei, go to Ho’okipa, golf...but we need visitors to help our recovery.

V83

Those emergency amber alert style alerts on your phone are worthless.  If you get one, it means you're far enough away that your cell tower had power and still exists.
We live .25 miles away from where the tornado that killed 24 passed 3 years ago.  Our neighbor (who was the fist area hit) did get an alert but it came as he sat up in bed just in time to eat insulation from his roof imploding.  My wife got her alert 4 days after the storm had passed.  I'm not sure that my phone ever went off.  We honestly didn't even know it was a tornado until the next morning because there was no news. 

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yeah, we are fine where we are.

school was cancelled since Wednesday of last week - Teachers head back today, students back on Wednesday. (Friday is statehood day / No School)

Not sure what the schools in Lahaina will be doing, but we are anticipating an influx of students

[Guest]

https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/15/us/hawaii...index.html

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No comment....  (Too Soon?)

Glad you were out of the fire zone Vanguard

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this fucking guy should be executed immediately.  I am ignoring the political bent in this piece,  but what this ass clown did was criminal.

https://www.outkick.com/obama-backed-haw...tal-views/

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The head of the “Emergency response team” or whatever resigned yesterday.

Its probably a great job to have......that is....until an actual emergency.

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https://www.yahoo.com/news/some-hawaiian...44212.html

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tourism is the life blood here.  yeah, some recovery time is needed, but tourists need to come to Hawaii / Maui.  so many jobs rely on our guests.  Yeah - go ahead and chase them away, but when you cant pay the mortgage because there are no jobs left - youve just cut your own throat.

Three neighbors of ours own businesses that were destroyed on Front St. - All three have expressed how important it is for tourism to return

[Guest]

@Vanguard83 said:
tourism is the life blood here.  yeah, some recovery time is needed, but tourists need to come to Hawaii / Maui.  so many jobs rely on our guests.  Yeah - go ahead and chase them away, but when you cant pay the mortgage because there are no jobs left - youve just cut your own throat.

Three neighbors of ours own businesses that were destroyed on Front St. - All three have expressed how important it is for tourism to return

Yep, tourists are definitely getting mixed messages. And some Maui businesses are already laying people off and have seen massive reductions in sales. Sad. What is so typical is overreaction.....and this overreaction is going to cost Maui businesses big time unfortunately.

This won't help moving forward either: https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/21/us/hawaii...index.html