The videos that are coming on line are terrifying. Our family doesn't know anyone from Lahaina but everybody knows someone who knows someone from there, if that makes sense. One or two degrees of separation, at the most. Hawaii is a small place, especially athletically.
We also know many Oahu folks who are now intimately involved in what's happening there. The situation will continue to have a state-wide effect since so many thousands of people affected.
There's one clarification I'd like to make because of the well-meaning but inaccurate perceptions I'm seeing on various on-line communities (not this one!). No one was prepared for how strong the winds were last week. Yes, there was a hurricane that was moving east to west about 500 miles south and on a line parallel to the island chain. We all knew that and we took precautions in proportion to what we thought the threat would be. But because the hurricane was so far away, the persistent 80mph gusts (for about 36 hours) that made the fire so bad were absolutely not expected. I ignored the wind warnings because Hawaii has experienced far less windy conditions from many other hurricanes that were much much closer to the islands. This fire was its own perfect storm of non-native vegetation that acted like gasoline poured on the fire, the extreme winds, and the worsening drought conditions.
Thanks again for all your support. Maui needs it.