Single home at water’s edge miraculously untouched by Maui wildfires – just like church
A single home by the ocean fascinatingly survived the Maui wildfires – just like a church in the same devastated historic town.
A two-story white house with a red roof appeared untouched and gleaming while surrounded by scorched black terrain with homes burned to the ground and trees stripped down to their skeletons.
Only some grass and shrubs around the red-roofed home were also spared.
Social media users have nicknamed the structure ‘The Red House That Survived Hawaii Wild Fires’.
The house survived in the same manner that the Maria Lanakila Catholic Church, also in Lahaina, stood unscathed by the wildfire that has so far killed 106 residents. Only five people had been identified as of Wednesday, as officials said many of the remains were burned beyond recognition.
Aerial footage of Lahaina recorded by KITV showed the red-roofed house as a bright spot, while blocks as far as the frame covered were completely burned down.
A few other homes and structures and a large building that appeared to be a hotel were also spared in other parts of the city. Some of them stood together in sections that the deadly flames did not reach.
It was not immediately known why the red-roofed home and the church were unharmed while the inferno wiped out nearly everything around them.
Pattie Tamura, whose family owns one of the only homes still intact in Lahaina, said she believes their house survived due to its concrete walls that do not catch on fire.
Tamura’s grandfather built the home using cement to help it withstand bugs and dry rot.
‘I’m sure it survived because of his knowledge and his construction skills,’ Tamura told the San Francisco Chronicle on Monday.
Among the casualties was Maui’s famous banyan tree, which was the largest of its species in the US. The massive tree that served as a symbol for the ancient Hawaiian capital was mercilessly blackened by the flames.
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