A Buddhist priest from Japan based in Lahaina on Hawaii's Maui island cherishes a photograph of his place of worship before it was engulfed in the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century.
Ai Hironaka, 46, resident minister at the Lahaina Hongwanji temple, now lives as an evacuee with his family at a friend's house in the island's northern region of Kahului.
During a recent interview with Kyodo News, he clutched in his hands the Aug. 9 paper edition of The Maui News. On the front page was his temple up in flames. "The day after the fire, I realized my temple was burned down because this paper told me."
"Ganbare (Hang in there), ganbare, ganbare," Hironaka said in Japanese while looking at the photo of the 90-year-old temple with tears in his eyes. "It's as if I can hear the temple's final voice."
The Maui News printed the photo with the credit line Matthew Thayer and it has since circulated in many U.S. news publications.
"I have a feeling of gratitude for the person that captured my temple's last moments," Hironaka said.
Hironaka moved to Lahaina from Honolulu in 2010 to be resident minister. He lived on the temple grounds with his wife, son and three daughters.
On the morning of Aug. 8, strong winds crashed open the temple's windows. Hironaka said he knew it would be a "tough" day when a large tree fell over in the wind.
Community members were preparing for the upcoming annual Bon Odori dancing festival -- a Japanese tradition to honor ancestors in mid-August.
"At first I ignored the wildfires," he said. "They were common to see from afar but I never thought they would come to town."
Hironaka and his family evacuated by car later in the day as a precaution against winds that were then gusting at nearly 100 kilometers per hour, generated by Hurricane Dora as it passed southwest of the Hawaiian island chain.
He packed only two days of clothes believing he would be able to return soon after the storm passed. But as he evacuated, he saw houses on fire. "I should go back, I didn't bring anything related to the Buddha," he thought.
But it was too late. "I saw the social hall of the church next to my temple ablaze."
The local police said the death toll from the wildfire rose to 115 as of Thursday and the Maui county office the same day released the names of 388 people who are still unaccounted for.
Meanwhile, the county filed a civil damages lawsuit Thursday against Hawaiian Electric Co. and its affiliates, alleging they did not turn off electrical equipment when the National Weather Service issued a warning Aug. 7 and that the fires were caused by the company's downed power lines igniting dry fuel such as grass and brush.
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Maui businesses face mixed messages on tourism after wildfires
FEATURE: Lahaina not the only place affected by wildfires on Maui
Leader in Maui relief efforts sees model in post-tsunami Japan
