Thank you, I wasn’t aware of that. But it isn’t “individuals” as I read it, it’s “household” - I really hope financial help is coming soon.
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I saw that this morning. 
Pox on anyone trying to profit from this tragedy.
(Just like the Florida condo that collapsed… vultures began circling the land when the shock of the tragedy was still fresh.)
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Interesting story behind the house that did not burn to the ground and is still standing among the devastation surrounding it. The owners renovated the historic house with protection from termite damage in mind. Turns out, this worked as fire protection as well.
“The 100-year-old property was once a bookkeeper’s house for employees of the Pioneer Mill Co., a sugar plantation that operated in Lahaina beginning in the mid-1800s, and the homeowners were seeking to restore some of the structure’s original features, she said.
“It’s a 100% wood house so it’s not like we fireproofed it or anything,” Atwater Millikin said.
Working closely with the county and the local historic commission, they replaced the asphalt roof with heavy-gauge metal — the home would have originally had a roof of either wooden shake or thinner-grade corrugated tin, she said. They lined the ground with stones up to the drip line of the roof, which overhangs by 36 to 40 inches.
And they removed foliage that was up against the house — not because they were trying to reduce the risk of ignition, but because they were concerned about termites spreading to the wooden frame, she said. Their only nod toward disaster preparedness was to install hurricane ties, she added.
“We love old buildings, so we just wanted to honor the building,” she said. “And we didn’t change the building in any way — we just restored it.”
It appears these modifications had the effect, however unintended, of making the home more resilient to flames.”
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My friend in Los Alamos also had her home the ONLY one remaining standing in her entire neighborhood after terrible fire went through her community. She also had a sturdy metal roof. She didn’t have foliage against her home either.
It took some time to eliminate the very smoky smell from her home after the fires. She prepared a lot of huge meals to feed as many of her neighbors as possible. I sent her a huge 10 cup rice cooker.
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I suspect there will be an uptick the popularity of cat names Maui and Lahaina in the greater Seattle area…
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Or Pele.
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Unbelievable that over 800 people are still unaccounted for after more than a week.
The fire was very hot and they will have to be sifting for bone fragments and match with family dna . Some may also have drowned in the ocean. It’s pretty awful for the survivors.
Even with cadaver dogs, they’re not finding much. The dogs may not be able to smell just bone fragments.
Many of them are kids. Heartbreaking. The school was cancelled that day. Many parents were away working leaving them at home alone. Escape route was also blocked.
Unfortunately with those winds a lot of ash may have been blown out to sea. 
There were annecdotal reports of people burning while sitting in their cars as well. 
The thought of so many hundreds unaccounted for is just overwhelming for me.
Our friend Chad, who lost his sole form of income (his boat) and his truck, is a perfect example of someone I’m happy to support. His nephew started a GoFund Me, and Chad isn’t using those donations for his own use, instead he’s been on the front line buying and delivering food, gas, medical supplies and baby needs to others that are still stuck up north. Much of those items are being delivered by other boat owners as there’s still a difficult task of getting up there. He’s such a selfless individual. We are proud to call him a friend!
Maui strong! 
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This is what I heard when reports started coming in and I was and still am, just appalled. I mean, yes the banyan tree is nice and all, but after reading what these poor people went thru…well I just don’t care about the tree. The town will be rebuilt. Their horror…omg, I can’t even imagine baking alive inside a car in disbelief and terror. My hopes are they passed out fairly quickly.
We were there in 2018. It’s normal to first think of where you’ve visited and vacationed, things you’ve seen that are now gone. But after hearing these stories…well, I just can’t get it out of my mind.
I am guessing most of the 800 still missing did not survive the fire. Gruesome.
Actually, local papers are stating missing people are >1,000. 