The anniversary of the fire that devastated Lahaina was last month. It has taken me this long to process my feelings about it. My dear friend Waltye Rasulala asked if I had viewed the documentary about the fire. I told her that I could not because it is too hard. Knowing so many people who perished and those whose lives were turned upside down when their homes, places of employment, vehicles, churches, essentially our hometown were destroyed, August 8th still makes me tear up.
My daughter Brie along with so many of my friends are suffering from PTSD. That isn’t something that goes away without therapy and with therapy it takes time. Unless you have been through a fire, flood, tornado or massive hurricane, it is hard to understand. I get that. But, it seems to have been forgotten. People are still houseless. People are still trying to rebuild their businesses. 2200 structures burned. Only one house has been completely built. There are a few in process. The hassle of getting plans drawn up, signed off by a Hawaii licensed architect, finding a trustworthy builder and getting on their dance card all has to be done before you can apply for the permit to rebuild your house. That is just the first step. I heard that there are three companies on Maui that build houses. So, even after you get the permit it could take months or years to get your turn. Every month our mortgage company’s insurance division sends us a letter asking why we haven’t filled them in on the progress of our rebuild. We have called them and emailed asking them to stop wasting ink, paper and postage. It is so irritating. But they are not the only entity asking how our house is coming along. Some have even said, “Well, you get a whole new house out of it.” I loved the house that burned. One of our tenants died there. All of our other tenants were left to find new housing and new jobs. Getting a new house isn’t exciting. It is a reminder of what we lost.
Anyway, Steve and I are going over mid-October to find an architect, and interview and hopefully select a builder, so we can get ready to apply for the permit. Steve hasn’t been back since the fire. I know he will be startled by seeing the devastation in-person. I know I was both times that I went over. Hopefully since the clean up is almost complete, it will not be as traumatic.
Please pray for the people of Maui. Many forced to leave the island are not planning to move back. The economy is suffering and the costs keep rising.
Be well,
Shirley
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