Lahaina residents deliver petition asking Hawaii governor to delay tourism reopening
Residents from fire-stricken Lahaina are petitioning Hawaii's governor to delay his plans to reopen a portion of West Maui to tourism starting this weekend
HONOLULU (AP) — Residents from fire-stricken Lahaina on Tuesday delivered a petition asking Hawaii Gov. Josh Green to delay plans to reopen a portion of West Maui to tourism starting this weekend, saying the grieving community is not ready to welcome back visitors.
The petition signed by more than 14,000 people comes amid a fierce and anguished debate over when travelers should return to the region home to the historic town of Lahaina that was destroyed in the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. At least 98 people died in the Aug. 8 blaze and more than a dozen are missing. The first phase of the plan to reopen Maui to tourists begins Sunday, the two-month anniversary of the disaster.
Though many residents say they are not ready, others say they need tourism so they can work in hotels and restaurants to earn a living.
“We are not mentally nor emotionally ready to welcome and serve our visitors. Not yet,” restaurant bartender Pa‘ele Kiakona said at a news conference before several dozen people delivered the petition. “Our grief is still fresh and our losses too profound.”
