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The Atlantic
Photos: One Year After the Lahaina Fire
By Alan Taylor,
1 day ago
At this time last year, swift-moving wildfires were burning across parts of the Hawaiian island of Maui, devastating the historic community of Lahaina, and killing 102 people. In the months since the disaster, work has been done to clear debris, set up temporary housing, and to mourn and remember loved ones who were lost. It was recently reported that lawsuits against the government and utilities have reached a $4 billion settlement. As steps toward rebuilding begin, local organizations are also working to battle the invasive grasses that act as fuel for wildfires, and to reintroduce more fire-resistant native plants. Gathered below are recent images from Lahaina made by Mario Tama, a photojournalist with Getty Images. See also “When Maui Burned,” by Carrie Ching.
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An aerial view of vegetation regrowth amid areas destroyed or damaged by the 2023 Lahaina wildfire, seen on August 4, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. # Mario Tama / GettyA person adjusts flowers at a public hillside memorial to Lahaina wildfire victims on August 7, 2024, in Lahaina. # Mario Tama / GettyAn aerial view of residential lots that have been cleared of wildfire debris and covered in gravel, seen as recovery work continues on August 3, 2024, in Lahaina. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has cleared wildfire debris from 1,372 out of 1,399 residential properties in Lahaina and 69 out of 159 commercial properties.Debris removal continues on August 2, 2024, at a former apartment building in the Lahaina wildfire impact zone. # Mario Tama / GettyFresh leaves grow on this historic and beloved banyan tree inside the Lahaina wildfire impact zone, photographed on August 2, 2024, in front of the remains of the Old Lahaina Courthouse, built in 1859. # Mario Tama / GettyMembers of the media work on August 2, 2024, in front of what remains of the Old Lahaina Courthouse. # Mario Tama / GettyAn aerial view of the recovering historic banyan tree behind the remains of the Old Lahaina Courthouse, photographed on August 4, 2024 # Mario Tama / GettyResidential lots in Lahaina, cleared of wildfire debris, photographed on August 3, 2024 # Mario Tama / GettyPeople pray at the start of the Obon festival at Wailuku Hongwanji Mission in Maui on August 3, 2024, in Wailuku, Hawaii. Obon is a Japanese Buddhist tradition honoring ancestors, and this year’s Obon dances in Maui are also being dedicated to those lost in the Lahaina wildfires. Obon was introduced to Hawaii by Japanese immigrants working on plantations in the late 19th century. The Lahaina Hongwanji Mission and two other Japanese Buddhist temples were destroyed by the Lahaina wildfire.
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Photographs and crosses are displayed at a public hillside memorial to Lahaina wildfire victims on August 1, 2024, in Lahaina. # Mario Tama / GettyBeth Sevilla stands with a horse, Sugar, during her free equine-assisted therapy session at Spirit Horse Ranch near Kula, Hawaii, on August 2, 2024, less than one week before the anniversary of the Maui wildfires. Spirit Horse Ranch has provided more than 1,000 free equine-assisted therapy sessions to facilitate healing to anyone affected by the wildfires in Maui.
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Construction continues on the FEMA Kilohana temporary housing project, which will have 169 units for fire survivors, on August 2, 2024, in Lahaina. # Mario Tama / GettyWork continues at the Ka Lai Ola temporary housing development, which will eventually hold 450 modular residential units for up to 1,500 fire survivors, seen during a media tour on August 2, 2024, in Lahaina. # Mario Tama / GettyA FEMA official and others view a modular residential unit at the Ka Lai Ola temporary housing development, on August 2, 2024. # Mario Tama / GettyA person dives off rocks as a tourist boat passes along Kaanapali Beach, a popular tourist destination near Lahaina, on August 5, 2024. In June, Maui saw a 22 percent decline in visitor arrivals and 27 percent decrease in visitor spending compared with 2023, according to the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.
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Sarah Severino with Coral Reef Alliance measures the water quality of stream water that is being used to irrigate kalo plants, also known as taro, at the Kipuka Olowalu biocultural reserve near Lahaina, on August 7, 2024. Kipuka Olowalu is a community organization that works to preserve the Olowalu valley, a Native Hawaiian cultural site, utilizing traditional practices and replacing invasive plants with native plants and crops that are more fire-resistant.A Kaiāulu Initiatives volunteer waters a native plant on formerly fallowed land, which was previously a plantation of sugarcane and pineapple, on August 6, 2024, in Lahaina. Kaiāulu Initiatives is a community effort to rehabilitate fallowed land above Lahaina with native plants and trees to revitalize the ecosystem and prevent wildfires from spreading. The mission is to "re-seed, re-plant, and re-canopy our home town of Lahaina to restore health and hope to our community."An aerial view of dry invasive grasses, once part of a plantation of sugarcane and pineapple, seen on August 6, 2024, in Lahaina. Dry invasive grasses like this became highly flammable fuel during the Lahaina wildfire in 2023. # Mario Tama / Getty
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