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“We’re all kind of maneuvering through our grief differently,” said Trixy Nuesca-Ganer, who lost her uncle David Nuesca Jr. in the fire. “Some have been able to move on and let him be at rest and peace. I think collectively we just try to remember the good things and not focus on the loss.”
"It’s going to be a long process," said Kā‘eo Blas, reflecting on one year since a fire burned down his home and much of Lahaina town. "Sometimes you think it gets better but it’s always there. It’s like losing somebody you love. You still get the memories, they’re still in your heart, but they’re not there. It’s not the same.”
“It was never a question that we were going to rebuild, we love it here,” said Andre Fehlmann, who has lived on the island for 11 years. “Even more so now that we have experienced the entire community all together — that’s probably the biggest plus that came out of all of this, that we know that people are there.”
The natural rivalry between King Kekaulike High School and Kamehameha Schools Maui on the gridiron has grown over the last three decades, but it has risen to new, unprecedented heights the last three years. “It’s built up for years now and I’ve seen this program grow from when I was small, but I think this year it is heavier than it’s ever been because we go back and forth with some of those guys,” said ‘A‘ali‘i Valle of King Kekaulike. “We’ve seen some of them at a couple clinics and we’re just, like, ‘No, we’re going to beat you guys this year.’ It’s our turn.”
"So, there’s a lot of options on the table if the county owns it. Private companies don’t get to apply for those funds," Council Member Gabe Johnson said of the benefits of a Maui County-owned ferry system.
"Last year after the fire, it was chaos. ... So, this year is totally welcome because we are at our home stadium, we know school is going to be here. It’s just so good to be back out here," Lahainaluna head coach Dean Rickard said.
“It’s important because it is connected to a much larger set of lands that go all the way to the summit (of the West Maui Mountains),” said Scott Fretz, the Maui branch manager of DLNR’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife. “Fires often start at those mauka lands and come down in the direction toward the highway. And often they start at the highway and go up this parcel into the mauka lands. So, that connectivity is important."
“We don’t have club water polo, so I just kind of saw the need for these athletes to continue and to introduce new athletes to the sport so that we’re not so far behind as we move into the high school seasons," said Shawn Donohue, former Baldwin High School girls water polo coach.
"There's very, very traditional ways to fight fire. And with the weather that we're facing now, we have to sometimes think outside the box, how it's going to impact communities faster," Maui Fire Chief Brad Ventura said.
“It’s distressing to all of us, even if it’s not coming right in our nearest vicinity, it’s still triggering, as it would be for anybody, either in Lahaina or Kula, that went through what we went through last year," said Melissa James of The Ohana Animal Inn in Kula.
While unloading cans of Spam and packets of saimin at distribution hubs shortly after the fires, Makale'a Ane and other farmers wanted to find ways to get fresher, healthier foods to families. “After the fires, we kind of pivoted and took the work that we’re doing on the farm and said, let’s feed our people in this way,” said Ane, the climae and resilience director for the Living Pono Project.
"We felt it was time to really get a better understanding of how much really should be left in the streams as kind of the starting point and then balance that against the other uses as well,” Maui County Water Supply Director John Stufflebean said.
"We want to make sure that Moloka‘i High School is able to compete at a high level and that transportation is not a reason why they would not be able to," Mokulele Airlines chief of staff Keith Sisson said.
“Everybody’s in a different situation. … We always say, do what you think would be good for your family and your situation," said Desilee Santiago of the Disaster Recovery Permit Center.
"We never got a generator because we knew way back when if we ever had a major catastrophe of that significance all our physicians would report to the hospital because it’d be that severe," Maui Medical Group Administrator Cliff Alakai said in explaining why the clinics would have to shut down if they lost power under Hawaiian Electric's new plan.
"They’re not going to be in the right mindset, the families are not going to be in the right mindset, the teachers are not going to be in the right mindset because we are all focused on 8-8," said Mikey Burke of the upcoming one-year anniversary of the Lahaina wildfire.
