image source,Getty Images
The red-roofed house was spared from the fires in Lahaina, while the rest of the neighborhood was reduced to rubble.
- Author,Madeline Halpert
- Role,.
The image of a red-roofed house that remained virtually untouched while the neighborhood around it was reduced to ash and rubble by the fires on Maui has gone viral.
The 100-year-old wooden structure is located on Front Street in the city of Lahaina, the most touristic place on the island of Maui, Hawaii.
The house survived hell while most of the town was destroyed.
Her owners marvel at what saved her from disaster.
The images “look like they were photoshopped”commented the owner of the house, Trip Millikin, to the newspaper Honolulu Civil Beat.
Search and rescue operations continue on Maui, with 114 confirmed deaths as of Tuesday.
The authorities report that there are still about 850 people missingbut that more than 1,200 that were on that list have been found safe.
These fires are considered the worst natural disaster in the history of the state of Hawaii.
US President Joe Biden arrived in Hawaii on Monday to see the devastation.
image source,Reuters
Joe Biden flew over the devastated town of Lahaina in the presidential helicopter.
The house “is not fireproof”
The owners of the house with the red roof were traveling in Massachusetts when they heard the news about the fire.
Millikin and his wife said they weren’t sure how their home held up.
Two years ago the couple bought the century-old property, which at the time was the accounting office of a sugar company.
According to Millikin and his wife, the house was in disrepair and they undertook its restoration. Those renovations may have been what saved the house.the couple told local media.
On the one hand, they replaced the original asphalt roof with heavy-gauge metal, surrounded the properties with river flagstones, and removed the surrounding foliage.
However, none of those measures were taken specifically to contain the flamesthey stated.
“It’s a 100% wooden house, so it’s not fireproof or anything like that,” Dora Atwater Millikin told the newspaper. Los Angeles Times.
He noted that as the flames burned, large pieces of wood fell on the roofs of the houses. “If it had been an asphalt roof, they would have caught fire. Or else pieces of wood would have fallen from the roof and ignited the foliage around the house,” he explained.
He added that the distance between his house and those of his neighbors could have helped his house not be affected.
The couple say they hope they can return to Lahaina when it’s safe, and when they do, they plan to offer their home to the many who have lost their homes.
“A lot of people have died,” Mrs Atwater Millikin said. “So many people have lost everything, and we have to take care of each other and rebuild. We must all help rebuild.”
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