Plus: Israel’s big ideas. Meet your new House speaker.
LAHAINA, Hawai‘i — As I entered the breezy lobby of Maui’s Kaanapali Shores resort a few weeks ago, just north of where an early August wildfire leveled the historic center of Lahaina, killing nearly 100 people and displacing some 9,400, I was greeted by two signs:Blue canopy tents obscured an otherwise luxe view of the pool, but you could still see to the uncrowded beach, once one of Maui’s most popular. That direction, mai tais were on offer at the bar.
Moana Yoneyama, a middle-aged mom of seven who lost her home in the fire, was waiting in the Kaanapali Shores lobby for a Red Cross staffer to review the paperwork documenting exactly how disaster befell her and to determine whether she’d be able to stay in her temporary housing at the resort. She eyed her rice resentfully and commented on the dryness of the shrimp.
Now, as visitors trickle back in post-fire, many residents can’t even reclaim the ashes of their old lives. Darryl Oliveira, the Maui County official coordinating the recovery, told me that, as of the start of the phased reopening, no more than 20 percent of survivors had been allowed to visit the lots where their houses once stood and sift for mementos.
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