Maui devastated as fires spread

By Leilani Nye and Kaila Powell

Editors and Staff Writers

The wildfires that devastated Maui in August also impacted the Konawaena community, which experienced a deep sense of loss as well as togetherness.

 On Aug. 8th, the Maui fire burned an estimated 2,168 acres of land. High winds and exposed power lines set fire to dry bush, which rapidly engulfed Lahaina, and parts of West Maui, leaving the town of Lahaina and its rich history in shambles. Killing an estimated 97 people, it is one of the deadliest fires in U.S. history in more than a century. Massive amounts of structural loss and overall damage was created, and prices to restore it are immense. 

Kellye Krug, the athletics director at Konawaena High School, said that as a Native Hawaiian, she feels deeply affected by the tragedy:  “So anything of this nature—in the state of Hawaii, it wouldn't have mattered what island it was on, it would've broken my heart.”  

According to the Hawaii DOE, almost all Maui schools were closed, with the exception of Hāna school during the week of August 9th. Around 3,000 Maui students were affected by the fires.

 Krug was among many Konawaena faculty members who sent donations via air transportation to Maui, a few weeks before the goods drive was halted.  But she also noted other ways Kona people can help the residents of Maui, and provided a thoughtful and philosophical outlook.

 “The way we help Lahaina without physically being there—without giving money every day of our lives—is learning about how to take care of this; how to have the opportunity to teach this lesson of taking care of the ‘aina (land) in various ways,” said Krug. 

“If you can—as a human being—if you can embrace the amount of…fear, the amount of loss, the amount of just complete devastation and put yourself in someone else’s shoes—that begins the whole premise of how we, as a lahui (nation)—how we as a Hawai’i community, start to help our loved ones—our community members in Maui,” she added. 

Kawika Kaili, a 16-year-old Maui resident, briefly enrolled at Konawaena after his family was displaced by the fires. “I've been living here my whole life and seeing the town like—just basically burnt… it was just very emotional…very sad,” he said.

Kaili plays on the Lahainaluna High School football team, whose players were scattered before the Maui schools reopened Oct. 16. The impact on his football career was a humbling lesson on the importance of community, he said.

“Everybody from Lahaina always loved to watch us play…our first game—everybody’s gonna be there…It really… makes me feel that I'm helping out the community, showing that we can still stand even though we have [unprecedented] times like this… and that we can keep moving forward,” Kaili said. Lahainaluna ended up winning a 42-0 game against Baldwin High School on Sept 30th.

The fires on Maui wreaked havoc on homes, businesses, and the island’s abundant Hawaiian history. However, Maui’s community still stands, and vows to rebuild.

Kaili, for example, shows how his heart is with the people, saying: “As long as we take care of each other, and that we know that we all have a strong heart to keep going; keep moving on in these sad times…we can still rebuild no matter what, as long as we have each other.”