There are still 385 people on the official list of those missing following the Maui wildfire, which tore through the seaside town of Lahaina one month ago.
The effect of the fire outbreak
Now, amid the destruction and damage, Maui locals are begging tourists to book vacations to the island to help its struggling tourism industry.
The Hawaii Tourism Authority announced a $2.6million push to help rebuild the ailing sector.
The agency said West Maui – where Lahaina is located – accounts for roughly 15 percent of the state’s total tourism revenue.
The state has lost an estimated $9million per day because of the drop off in tourism following the fire.
Rebuilding
The tourism board is now attempting a multi-million dollar push to generate tourism on Maui and to other Hawaiian Islands not impacted by the fires.
Ilihia Gionson, the agency’s public affairs representative, told CNN that people may not want to intrude on the part of the island dealing with the aftermath of the fire, but in an area entirely dependent on tourism, ‘the last thing you want is an economic downturn to follow the disaster.’
Ten days after the fire, Governor Josh Green declared a ‘tourism emergency’ as visitors to the island dropped off dramatically.
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Rental car fleets, usually at about 90 percent utilization this time of year, have dropped to 25 percent utilization.
The total job less figure is not yet clear, but Gionson said that a sample size of about 12 businesses returned a figure of some 200 layoffs.
He emphasized that the best way to help is to keep reservations and already booked trips to the island, so long as they are not slated to stay in West Maui.
365 people are still missing
As tourists are coaxed back to the island, nearly 400 people remain missing following the devastating fire – though Governor Green said Monday morning that authorities are handling just 41 active missing persons cases.
Authorities believe that at least 115 were killed by the 1,000-degree blaze.
The names of 50 of the deceased have been made public, and most of the rest have yet to be identified.
On August 8, flames pushed by 60 mph gusts of wind tore through the 12,000-person town, razing homes and businesses alike and destroying a place with strong ties to Native Hawaiian history.
More than half of the town’s residents are now living in hotels and short-term rentals as they figure out what’s next as the EPA works to eliminate hazardous waste left in the town’s burn zone.
Reconstruction will be a long and expensive process.
