Maui in Hawaii and the Lahaina Banyan Tree

The death toll of the Maui fires, the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century, now stands at 114 people and expected to increase. 

In fact the iconic Banyan Tree is a heroic symbol of potential resurrection.

Banyan Tree: The Lahaina Banyan Tree is a banyan tree in Maui, Hawaii, United States. A gift from missionaries in India, the tree was planted in Lahaina on April 24, 1873, to mark the 50th anniversary of the arrival of first American Protestant mission. Covering 1.94 acres, the tree resides in Lahaina Banyan Court Park.

Another 1,000 people are still missing. About 1,800 in people are in temporary housing. Displaced or not, people in Maui need food, water, toiletries, and medications. And in the coming days, weeks, and months, all that and more—everything needed for a long, difficult recovery—will have to come from somewhere.

“Imagine building the entire town of Lahaina from scratch, and how many hundreds of millions—or billions—of dollars are needed to recover and rebuild,” Joe Kent, the executive vice president of Hawaii’s Grassroot Institute, a nonprofit public-policy think tank, told me. The federal government has deployed hundreds of employees to help provide shelter and other assistance to those who are tragically impacted by the horrific blaze.

Elected officials are encouraged to designate a portion of time for looking ahead and contemplating the enormous job awaiting the victims, on the horizon

Emergency teams are doing all they can to take care of immediate needs.

There’s nothing like a huge threat to bring people together. In Hawaii, this spirit is called "aloha".

It’s encouraging that many offers of federal assistance, in-person assistance and money from all over the world are being donated to begin the process of meeting the overwhelming needs.

It’s been suggested that the Front Street Lahaina town be rebuilt to look just like those original historic buildings. Wow! Spread the word. Could this be feasible?

Could Front Street in Lahina be built using recycled materials like plastic, cement, metal? (Let’s save some money and our planet 😊)

It seems as though the roots of our beloved banyan tree have survived, so we already have a place to begin our beautification.

From Kelly Stanley, in Kahului  (Hawaiian pronunciation: is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Maui County in the U.S. state of Hawaii.)