Sands of Kahana Hale Honu

October 2023

John Alpine,  

Having barely escaped the devastating wind drive Marshall fire in Colorado in 2022 (by just a few miles), we now barely escaped an even more tragic fire in Lahaina.  Kahana is about 8 miles north of Lahaina upwind, so the fire stopped south. Nevertheless all power, water, electricity and communications were cut off.  Our amazing guests at the time managed to figure out what was happening and left just days after. Of course, we refunded all unused nights (and the no power, no water days) as well as refunded all deposits for those that canceled in the aftermath.

It is now three months after the fire and Lahaina is slowly being cleared. Most of those that lost their homes are staying in temporary housing provided by FEMA and the Red Cross using hotel rooms, largely in Kaanapali. 

Though not restricted by the Governors requests for non essential travel to the area as owners, we nevertheless held off visiting the unit until the beginning of October and stayed the month. As Kahana serves as a distribution and help center for dislocated residents, we helped out where we could, also donating to the Maui animal shelter that suddenly found itself with a huge number of lost or abandon animals. 

We also spent time doing what we could for the local economy, making sure we were not disrupting any recovery efforts, replacing all the carpeting, the sun filtering film on windows and fixing/replacing the usual assorted items and issues. One item top of our list was replacing the A/C air filters and water filters. Though there really was no smoke or broken water pipes in Kahana you never know where ash might drift. 

If you're thinking of traveling to Maui, do so.  The economy was severely impacted and many businesses are facing economic ruin.  You will only be helping. North west Maui where we are, has been especially hard it. You will be welcomed and anything you spend will go a long way to helping the recovery. Airfares and car rental fees are a deal right now so you will have more $s to spend on Island where it counts.  

Photos on the left: A nearly empty Kaanapali beach, the refurbished koa pond a the Sands, an aerial  photo of Maui by pilot John flying at 2,000 ft.