Stunning video from Lahaina appears to show a historic Catholic church standing seemingly unscathed among the rubble left behind when the devastating wildfires swept over Maui.
As of Monday evening, 99 people have been confirmed dead and thousands of structures have been reduced to ash. But at least one was spared from the intense blaze, Maria Lanakila Catholic Church.
“For us, it’s like a miracle,” Monsignor Terrence Watanabe, pastor of a nearby church, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “When we saw the news and saw the church steeple rise above the town, it was a great sight to see.”
While photos and videos show Maria Lanakila (Our Lady of Victory), which was established in 1846 and dedicated in 1858, relatively intact, the church did sustain some damage to its roof.
Watanabe acknowledged it will take some time before they know whether the church is structurally sound.
“We won’t know until we get in there and make an assessment,” he said.
The Lahaina fire is now considered the deadliest fire in over 100 years, according to the US Fire Administration.
More than 2,200 structures were destroyed in the historic town with 86% of them being residential.
“This is the largest natural disaster we’ve ever experienced,” Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said. “It’s going to also be a natural disaster that’s going to take an incredible amount of time to recover from.”
The deadly fires began to sweep across the island of Maui last week taking both residents and tourists by surprise.
As fire raged and explosions sounded around them, people did whatever they could to escape the flames.
Many survived the nightmare scenario, while dozens, potentially hundreds, died as the inferno consumed Lahaina.
“There are more fatalities that will come,” Green told CBS Mornings. “The fire was so hot that what we find is the tragic finding that you would imagine, as though a fire has come through and it’s hard to recognize anybody.”
While officials are receiving pushback from residents itching to return to what’s left of their homes in Lahaina, the police chief has said there’s a good reason why access has been restricted.
“It’s not just ash on your clothing when you take it off. It’s our loved ones,” Chief Pelletier said. “That’s the reverence. That’s why we can’t have you walking down, and we had to arrest somebody for trespassing so if we want to keep doing this and slowing it down, keep doing that.”
As of Monday, 25 percent of the fire zone had been searched for remains. Officials hope that by the weekend 85 to 90 percent of the area will have been searched.
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While there has been nothing but devastation, Maria Lanakila Catholic Church rising above the ashes serves as a pillar of hope and resilience.
