Maui's fires nearly destroyed the landmarks of Lahaina. But those historic structure have been badly damaged and restored before. Preservationists hope to rebuild again.
– which stood on the merchant site that served as the town’s “center of life” in the Plantation Era, Flook said – was reduced to charred walls and rubble.
And on the whole, little can be done to protect buildings caught in the path of such a catastrophic blaze, especially wooden ones, experts said.“Based on the images I’ve seen, it seems pretty hard to imagine what could possibly protect a building in this context,” said Daniel Barber, head of the University of Technology Sydney’s architecture department.The cultural loss is steep.
“We’re going to have to have a dark box in there,” he said, “to explain that Lahaina isn’t what it was.” And in 1919, a fire broke out that destroyed part of Lahaina. What was built in its place, Flook said, became “part of the flavor of the town,” an area people loved.
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