It’s been more than a month since the worst natural disaster in Hawaii’s history devastated Maui. Officials believe residents will not be able to return to what is left of the fire for nine months.
Over the past month, Lahaina residents say they have experienced many different emotions.
Some people are still hoping to hear from their loved ones as Hawaii’s governor says there are still 66 identified people missing. Others are mourning the loss of their loved ones as the official death toll now stands at 115.
We first meet Terry Weaver at a fundraising event, just days after his house burned down in a fire. He says that the wound will take time to heal.
“It looked like a war zone,” he said. “…It’s not easy.”
Ekolu Lindsay is another victim of the disaster, and he says now it’s about taking small steps and always moving forward.
“It completely sucks, but we adapt and we succeed and we move forward,” he told Scripps News. “It’s still surreal. It’s still raw and we’re still trying to figure things out.”
The three residents we spoke to lost eight properties. Some houses. Some business. Yet the fact is that even though the cameras have largely gone off the island, the heartbreaking incident we witnessed last month is still there.
“We try to process [and] It’s hard because we’re all still grieving,” Lindsey said. “To even conceptualize a rebuild, I don’t think the time has come yet.”
Meanwhile, officials say many people won’t be able to return home until at least the spring. For many people, this process depends heavily on each other.