After fire struck Maui’s Upcountry, residents of one town looked to themselves to prep for next one

Associated Press

High up in the mountains of Maui, residents of one small town have taken their future into their own hands after a fire last year that burned 19 homes. The blaze that hit part of Kula in August was far smaller than the fire that devastated the historic city of Lahaina, on Maui’s coast. In Kula, residents and firefighters scrambled to beat back the flames after a power outage caused a loss of water pressure. People in Kula have been organizing ever since around cleanup and fire prevention. They’re clearing invasive species, reforesting the burned area with native plants, stabilizing soil, installing smoke detection cameras and holding their utilities accountable.