KAHULUI, Hawaii - Dottie Dapitan had been trying for nearly two weeks to reach the ruins of her apartment in the scorched heart of Lahaina. Maybe, she figured, some scrap remained of the existence she lost to the fire that destroyed the coastal town on Maui.
Some, like Dapitan, cite a deep emotional need to lay eyes on the places they called home. Others urgently want to check whether their fire safes, metal sculptures, coin collections or sentimental jewelry survived and have not been stolen. Aid groups want to deliver resources to the few people still living inside the burn zone or rescue animals that might be trapped in buildings.National Guard soldiers staff a checkpoint this week on Lahainaluna Road, a main thoroughfare in Lahaina, Hawaii.
A council member, Gabe Johnson, sympathized. He, too, had been denied access. “It’s hard to get in there,” Johnson said. The conundrum for residents is that the message on the ground, depending on who is asked, has sometimes been the opposite. Michael Willinsky, founder of Save Maui Cats, carries cat food past a barricade on Kapunakea Street in Lahaina on Tuesday.
It was a house full of love, she said, which she shared with her 18-month-old, her 8-year-old, her mother, her father, her brother, his wife and that couple’s 10-year-old. The family purchased it together in 2019. Rescuers want to be allowed in, even to “throw a rock into the window and throw food in,” she said. “We have no time to go back and forth or write letters to wake up government officials.”
Property Property Latest News, Property Property Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: washingtonpost - 🏆 95. / 72 Read more »