VIDEO/PHOTOS: Maui United Way organized efforts this past Saturday to protect one Lahainaluna High School and the surrounding community. Recognized as the oldest school west of the Rockies, Lahainaluna holds deep cultural, educational and historic significance. Sitting upwind of Lahaina town, the campus needed a critical buffer against future wildfires, especially during a season of severe drought.
Maui United Way brought together local alumni, community leaders and partners including Hawaiian Electric, Maui Land & Pineapple Company, Lahaina Excavation, and Maui Emergency Management Agency to launch the Lahainaluna Firebreak Initiative. With 70 community volunteers, many of them Lahainaluna graduates, and key community partners, nine acres of dry brush were cleared above campus, marking the launch of a long-term fire mitigation effort. MLP also helped create an emergency access road above Lahainaluna school.
The workday was also supported by generous donations from Service Rentals, Mālama Maui Nui, and Home Depot, with refreshments donated by Tropic Water and meals provided by West Maui favorite, Nagasako’s. Hawaiian Electric West Maui Community Liaison Mikey Burke said, “All the partners involved feel kuleana to Lahaina. The kāhea goes out and it’s answered immediately because of how much aloha we all have for Lahaina, for Maui, for our kaiāulu.”
