The texts were ringing like crazy this morning. “Are you in Maui? Are you okay?” Fortunately, yes just fine but Maui, the second biggest Island in Hawaii, continues to fight massive wildfires that started Tuesday and virtually destroyed the classic town of Lahaina (capital of Hawaii at one time) and a tourist mecca.
Flames have reportedly destroyed hundreds of homes and some businesses in a paradise that has long been a favorite getaway , and even home for many entertainment luminaries including Oprah Winfrey, Clint Eastwood, Steven Tyler, Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson, Kris Kristofferson, Jeff Bezos, and many more.
Mick Fleetwood not only lives on the island but has a popular restaurant Fleetwood’s On Front Street that was situated right in the path of where the fire was most fierce in picaresque Lahaina, a city described now as looking instead like a bombed-out war zone.
I come here every summer and am currently in Maui in Wailea at the Four Seasons, often a favored hotel for industryites. Fortunately it is on the other side of the Island, about 27 miles away from Lahaina and currently in no threat of evacuation, unlike West Maui where unspeakable tragedy – six reported deaths so far – is taking place.
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