Tribute on two year wildfire anniversary brings Maui community together in healing

During the third and final 2025 Kuhinia Maui gathering marking the second anniversary of the Maui wildfires, hundreds of community members came together at Lahaina Civic Center on Aug. 8 to pay tribute to lives lost through songs, speeches and multicultural and multigenerational presentations.

The evening memorial served as a reminder that Maui’s story isn’t one that ends with tragedy — it is defined by strength, unity, resiliency and aloha. Local speakers shared that Lahaina is more than a place — it is the people, the culture and the spirit.

“In Lahaina, the wind carries more than salt and sea — it carries the voices of those we’ve lost, urging us to keep going. And we will. For them. For our keiki. And for our future,” Mayor Richard Bissen said during his opening remarks. “Tonight, may we remember that the light of our loved ones is never truly gone — it is carried forward in every act of aloha, every step toward rebuilding, and every promise we’ve made to protect this place we love.”

Mayor Bissen added that there is hope amid the heartache.

“The legacy of this time will not be only about loss. It will be a story of resilience — grounded in our shared commitment to preserve this place and its history through the eyes, minds and hearts of its people,” he said. “We still face hard days ahead. But through our heartbreak, our hope brings lighter days. The strength that carried us through the first hour, the first day, the first year, is the same strength that will carry us forward through recovery.”

The evening opened with a pule by County of Maui ʻŌiwi Resources Director Kumu Kapono‘ai Molitau. Rev. Ai Hironaka of Lahaina Hongwanji Mission offered the keynote speech that centered on healing and nurturing the wellbeing of survivors by focusing on new possibilities.

“Building must never replace the healing of hearts,” he said with empathy, his young family having lost their own residence along with the the temple that was destroyed in the fire. “The aloha, diversity and compassion that Lahaina taught us must continue to grow. We learn to carry Lahaina within us.”

Community speakers presented uplifting messages of strength in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, Chinese, Spanish, Tagalog, Samoan, Tongan, Vietnamese and English.

Performances by the Maria Lanakila Church Choir and the Honolua and Lahaina United Methodist Church Choir were followed by a video memorial paying tribute to the 102 victims and two unaccounted for in the 2023 Maui wildfires. 

An inspirational rendition of “O Kou Aloha” by keiki of Maui Music Mission was followed by remarks on family, community and hope for the future by youth speakers Noe De Leon Gonzalez, Boys and Girls Club of Lahaina Jr. Youth of the Year, and recent Lahainaluna High School graduate Sophia Topinio. The evening concluded with the audience joining hands for the singing of “Hawaiʻi Aloha.” The Kūikawā trio performed pre- and post-event music with their blend of tight harmonies reminiscent of the artistry of Mākaha Sons.

The 2025 Kuhinia Maui community gatherings marked the two-year wildfire anniversary with a morning Paddle Out at Hanakaʻōʻō, a Midday Gathering in Central Maui and the Evening Tribute in Lahaina. Community led, with County of Maui support, the Kuhinia Maui gatherings honored lost loved ones and celebrated the community’s resilience.

Named after a line from a traditional Maui chant, Kuhinia Maui reflects the island’s beauty and spirit to rise from tragedy. For more details, visit www.kuhiniamaui.org.