Though the real tragedy of this week’s wildfires in Hawaii is in the lives that have been lost so far, a Door County connection to the Town of Lahaina is no more.
According to CNN, at least 36 people have been killed as a result of the wildfires that started earlier this week. Like large pockets of the country, Hawaii has suffered from drought conditions, which have fueled the wildfires along with high winds from the passing of Hurricane Dora. The wildfires have destroyed the Town of Lahaina, the government seat of Hawaii when it was a kingdom. In the town was the historic Baldwin Home, which was built in the 1830s and used as a housing compound for medical missionaries Dwight Baldwin and Charlotte Fowler Baldwin.
According to Door County Community Foundation President and CEO Bret Bicoy, Baldwin helped fight the smallpox epidemic on the island, saving countless lives. Dwight Baldwin was the great-great-grandfather of the late Ruth Baldwin Barker, who Bicoy called one of Door County’s greatest philanthropists. Barker’s financial gifts helped pave the way for several initiatives for the Door County YMCA including the gymnasium at the recently renamed Jackie and Steve Kane Center in Fish Creek, the former Barker Child Development Center in Sturgeon Bay, and scholarships for families who could not afford memberships. Bicoy, whose father was born in Lahaina in the 1920s, says the wildfires claimed an important landmark that just happened to have a Door County connection and so much more.
The destruction caused by the fires has made communication tough for Bicoy and others to connect with people on Maui due to power and cell phone outages. More than 11,000 people have been evacuated from Maui as hundreds of buildings including the Baldwin Home Museum have been lost to the blaze. Hawaii Lt. Governor Sylvia Luke told CNN on Wednesday that the road to recovery will likely take years to achieve. The Hawaii Community Foundation has set up the Maui Strong Fund to help support those affected by the wildfire. You can support their efforts by donating at this link.
