Current:Home > NewsLahaina family finds heirloom in rubble of their home on first visit after deadly wildfire-InfoLens
Lahaina family finds heirloom in rubble of their home on first visit after deadly wildfire
View Date:2024-12-23 16:43:11
LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Leola Vierra stepped gingerly among the hardened pools of melted metal, charred wood and broken glass that are almost all that remain of the home where she lived for nearly 50 years.
Sifting through the rubble, she found two cow-patterned vessels, part of her extensive collection of bovine figurines. Nearby, her son discovered the blackened remnants of his late grandfather’s pistol, dating to his days as a Lahaina policeman in the 1950s. There was no sign of the beloved cat, Kitty Kai, that used to greet her when she came home from work.
“I’m so sad — devastated,” she said. “This was my home.”
Vierra, her husband and two adult children returned to the property Tuesday for the first time since the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century whipped through on Aug. 8, obliterating the historic town of Lahaina and killing at least 97 people. They were among the first small group of residents to be allowed back into the burn zone to see where their homes once stood.
They wore boots, white coveralls, face masks and gloves to protect them from toxic ash and other dangers, but their visit was cut short after about 15 minutes when workers showed up and cordoned off the property with yellow caution tape.
A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency official informed them over the phone that a crew did a “last quality assurance check” on Saturday afternoon and didn’t like not knowing what was underneath the crumpled remnants of the roof. A team would return Wednesday morning and the agency would call with an update, the official said.
Afterward, the family milled about on the sidewalk and looked toward the property. Vierra’s son, Mika, said they would come back when they get clearance so they can look around some more.
The four-bedroom house, which Vierra designed, was in the hills overlooking the ocean on Maui’s coast. It had a pool, which now sits half full, and an outdoor kitchen — she called it the cabana — which is gone.
The family ran four stores that catered to tourists, selling aloha shirts and muumuus along with leis that Vierra’s husband, Mike Vierra, would make from plumeria blossoms he picked in their yard. Three of the stores burned down. Of the family’s dozen plumeria trees, three survived.
Three small banyan trees — one planted for each of her three children — also appeared to have survived and even showed signs of new growth.
Officials opened the first area for reentry — a section of about two dozen parcels in the north of Lahaina — on Monday and Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Residents and property owners could obtain passes to enter the burn zone.
The Vierras have been staying at a resort hotel, like thousands of other survivors whom the government has put up in temporary housing across Maui. They waited until Tuesday so that Mika could join them after arriving from Utah, where he works in sales.
Mika drove to the property with his parents straight from the airport. He said he and his sister have decided to rebuild when the cleanup is done, whenever that is.
“We’ll be sure to rebuild something nice where our old house used to be,” he said.
___
Johnson reported from Seattle.
veryGood! (656)
Related
- Mega Millions winning numbers for November 12 drawing: Jackpot rises to $361 million
- Evacuation of far northern Canadian city of Yellowknife ordered as wildfires approach
- Tyler Perry, Byron Allen, Sean 'Diddy' Combs lose out on bid for BET networks sale
- Max Homa takes lead into weekend at BMW Championship after breaking course record
- It's about to be Red Cup Day at Starbucks. When is it and how to get the free coffee swag?
- Pentagon review finds structural changes needed at military service academies to address sexual harassment
- Georgia jail where Trump, co-defendants expected to be booked is under DOJ investigation
- Price of college football realignment: Losing seasons, stiffer competition
- Dogecoin soars after Trump's Elon Musk announcement: What to know about the cryptocurrency
- Kansas City Chiefs superfan 'ChiefsAholic' indicted on bank robbery, money laundering charges
Ranking
- Amazon Best Books of 2024 revealed: Top 10 span genres but all 'make you feel deeply'
- Lolita the orca dies at Miami Seaquarium after half-century in captivity
- David Byrne has regrets about 'ugly' Talking Heads split: 'I was more of a little tyrant'
- Eagles' Tyrie Cleveland, Moro Ojomo carted off field after suffering neck injuries
- College football Week 12 expert picks for every Top 25 game include SEC showdowns
- Lionel Messi 'enjoying the moment' in new stage of career with David Beckham's Inter Miami
- Mortgage rates continue to climb — and could reach 8% soon
- Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton's Latest Collab Proves Their “Love Is Alive
Recommendation
-
Falling scaffolding plank narrowly misses pedestrians at Boston’s South Station
-
Unusual Pacific Storms Like Hurricane Hilary Could be a Warning for the Future
-
Jeremy Allen White Has a Shameless Reaction to Alexa Demie's Lingerie Photo Shoot
-
Court tosses Jan. 6 sentence in ruling that could impact other low-level Capitol riot cases
-
Arbitrator upholds 5-year bans of Bad Bunny baseball agency leaders, cuts agent penalty to 3 years
-
Pentagon review finds structural changes needed at military service academies to address sexual harassment
-
Thousands more Mauritanians are making their way to the US, thanks to a route spread on social media
-
Charlize Theron Has the Best Response to Rumors She’s Gotten Plastic Surgery