How do you even begin to comprehend the tragedy of the Lahaina fire? Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, children, workers and friends are forever gone. The death toll keeps rising. A community of homes and businesses wiped out. More than 2,200 structures were destroyed, over 80% residential. Irreplaceable cultural centers key to Hawaiian history no longer exist. A vibrant economic engine on Maui has been decimated.

The immediate priority is to assist the human and animal survivors. Countless news and social media reports suggest that Maui is energetically and generously rising to the occasion. It’s far too early to assess the long-term fates of the survivors, who face life without family members, friends, homes and jobs.

Rebuilding individual lives and the community will be an awfully long and difficult journey. An early estimate of the cost of rebuilding Lahaina is $5.52 billion. Many fear that the wrong kind of development, skewed to the wealthy and minimizing affordable housing, will force even more long-time residents to leave the island.

Many organizations and initiatives need your help. Established organizations include the Red Cross, Maui Food Bank, the Maui Humane Society and the Hawaii Animal Rescue Foundation. (For the Red Cross, visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED-CROSS (800-733-2767), or text the word HAWAII to 90999 to make a $10 donation.) Scores of easy-to-find social media posts detail additional organizations and smaller grassroots efforts that also need your assistance. If you live on Maui, you may complete a questionnaire prepared by the county to help organize various efforts to aid the survivors.

A Metaphor of Hope

When contemplating the magnitude of the tragedy, veganism is admittedly a very limited perspective. However, food is an essential part of culture. Since we are an advocate for veganism on Maui, we should mention that Lahaina was home to several vibrant vegan or mostly vegan restaurants. Two of them, the wonderful whole food, plant-based a’a Roots and the mostly vegan Moku Roots, have apparently survived. The Lahaina branch of Choice Health Bar, including a 4,000-foot production center, was not so fortunate. We will provide updates as more information becomes available.

We will remain positive. Moving comments from Choice Health Bar serve as a metaphor of hope for Lahaina and Maui:

“This is how we want to remember Choice Lahaina … full of color, food, and happiness. Food brings people together. So does adversity. We got this Lahaina. Our town may be leveled but our spirit needs to stay strong.

“Choice as we know it will never be the same. But we have no doubt that we can dig deep and reinvent, reimagine, recover. Be patient with us, as we are dealing with a lot, and we know all of you are, as well. Thank you to everyone who has offered their love. Twelve years of building community has grown into a place where we know that we will endure.”

After the Fire

A Metaphor of Hope