EMILY KWONG, HOST:
Two years ago, wildfires devastated the town of Lahaina on the Hawaiian island of Maui. More than 100 people died, and over 2,000 homes and buildings were destroyed. Shortly after the fire, NPR interviewed Lahaina residents as they were trying to rebuild, and Debbie Arellano was one of them. Back then, she was staying in temporary housing with her husband and 18-month-old son.
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DEBBIE ARELLANO: I'm living out of tote bags. I'm living day by day, and I haven't been able to bring myself to unpack because I don't know if we're leaving.
KWONG: And the big question on her mind was how to rebuild Lahaina? - what to do with the people who have lived there for generations now displaced? Debbie is here now to discuss how the community of Lahaina is doing now. Debbie Arellano, welcome back to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.
ARELLANO: Thank you, Emily.
KWONG: So Debbie, it's the two-year anniversary of the fires, and we want to know what the mood in Lahaina is like right now.
ARELLANO: Very solemn - you know, a lot of people have started the rebuilding process, but a lot of people also have not. It's just all across the spectrum, you know?
KWONG: Yeah.
ARELLANO: And our town is gone. Our home is gone. So it's just - it's a day to remember how far we've come and also how much we've lost and the struggle ahead, you know?
KWONG: How are you remembering it? Do you have any rituals? I know there were memorial gatherings last year. You decided to stay at home. What is this year like for you?
ARELLANO: Same thing with me. And I'm trying to figure that out 'cause I like to surround myself around friends and family.
KWONG: Yeah.
ARELLANO: But it was also my coping mechanism. You know, I got - I organized a bunch of friends and created a nonprofit. That was my response. That was my way to cope and deal with it. And so today, I kind of am just turning in and being with - being at home and being with my husband and my child.
KWONG: And what's your nonprofit called, and what does it do?
ARELLANO: It is called Kaibigan ng Lahaina. It's literally, translated from Tagalog, friends of Lahaina. And it's a bunch of friends from, you know, middle school, high school. We all grew up in student council together. We're stronger together. You know, we can help our families together. We're all doing the same things, going through the same motions. We've got the same barriers. And let's just - you know, there's so much funds out there. Let's try to do something.
KWONG: The bonds formed in student council - those last, you know?
ARELLANO: Yeah. And, you know, Lahaina's small, and it's a small Filipino community with a Filipino immigrant-serving organization. And so our parents all work in the - you know, in the hotels and stuff like that. So we all grew up together.
KWONG: One of the things you told NPR's Marisa Peñaloza and Pien Huang is that at the time - this was back in 2023 after the wildfires - you didn't - you weren't that hopeful that Lahaina would be redeveloped with locals in mind. This is what you said to them.
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ARELLANO: Lahaina's been in trouble for a long time, and so I guess this is the breaking point.
KWONG: How do you feel hearing that tape now?
ARELLANO: I don't regret it. Many families have moved. I've seen a lot of people move because there was no - there wasn't a chance for them to stay. They couldn't afford it. After FEMA left, a lot of people could not afford rent on Maui.
KWONG: Yeah.
ARELLANO: People were living paycheck to paycheck to begin with, pre-fire, so...
KWONG: Yeah.
ARELLANO: But in terms of the breaking point that I mentioned, it pushed a lot of - at least a lot of people in my generation to organize, to stand up and do something. So a lot of nonprofits - local, Lahaina-based nonprofits - have formed since then.
KWONG: Yeah. I'm - you know, I'm hearing, Debbie - I'm hearing birds in the background. And...
ARELLANO: (Laughter).
KWONG: ...Hawaii, Maui, it's such a place, right? And for those...
ARELLANO: Yeah.
KWONG: ...Who do stay, they love it so, so much. And I wanted to ask you, too, about the health of the community because studies have shown that water quality can be impacted long after flames die down. I know you were worried about your parents eating vegetables from their garden. How are you feeling about people's health right now?
ARELLANO: I - like, where I work, I'm exposed to mental health, the mental health profession. And so that's more of what I'm a little bit more aware of or hear more from. And, I mean, we're still learning, you know...
KWONG: Yeah.
ARELLANO: ...Even in education, what the effects are like after, like, the trauma in education after an emergency.
KWONG: Right. You work at Lahainaluna High School. What is the legacy of this fire amongst your students right now?
ARELLANO: We say it's the first high school west of the Mississippi. It started out as a seminary. So it's a beacon of light for Lahaina but even for education here in Hawaii. This is where Hawaiian, the Hawaiian language, was first set in print...
KWONG: Wow.
ARELLANO: ...When we started out as a seminary. And so it's been standing since 1831. We're now a high school. And so in terms of a community rebuilding, I think that the schools all play a role, you know?
KWONG: Yeah. So how would you characterize the rebuilding efforts? What are you hearing and seeing from people?
ARELLANO: I forget sometimes how resilient our community is, and how - I never forgot how much Lahaina is loved. And these people will go to the end fighting for Lahaina. And so we're not just rebuilding our homes and, you know, putting together our families and stuff. But this is a place we love. This is what's made us, you know, and what's cared for us. Moving is not an option. For those who have, there has - they have exhausted all options. But there is always a desire to come back. Lahaina's so special. Lahaina is not Lahaina without its people. It's the people that make Lahaina.
(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD CALLING)
KWONG: That bird absolutely agrees with what you're saying.
(LAUGHTER)
KWONG: It's beautiful.
ARELLANO: I think so.
KWONG: That's Lahaina resident Debbie Arellano. Thank you so much for talking to us.
ARELLANO: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCADE FIRE'S "PHOTOGRAPH") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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