Lahaina fire victims honored with hundreds of crosses made by the community
By Mika Miyashima
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LAHAINA, Hawaii (KITV) — Lahaina fire victims are now honored by hundreds of wooden crosses, hung on a fence along Lahaina Bypass Road.
Community members spent their Tuesday hanging, painting, and adorning 115 crosses with flowers.
One for each of the lives lost so far to the fire.
“Not a single person we know in the west side hasn’t been touched with either the loss of a loved one, or a pet, or their business, or their home,” explained Lahaina resident Shawneen Schweitzer, who helped make the crosses.
Schweitzer said her friend Sunya Schlea came up with the idea to honor those killed with crosses.
Schweitzer and her husband quickly jumped in to help.
“Our hope is that the people who lost a loved one can go there and mourn their family member,” Schweitzer explained. “We also want it to be a little beacon of hope for the community as they pass, to know that if we can survive this as a community, we can survive anything.”
Community members plan to add as many crosses as needed, to make sure no one is forgotten.
Kamehameha Schools gave the group permission to hang them in that location, right next to where they say the first fire started that deadly day.
“They understood that the community desperately needed a place to go,” said Schweitzer. “One of the gentlemen that helped build the crosses, he was the first one to call in the fire. He lives right in front of that very first fire that started. We decided that’s where the crosses should be put.”
Residents plan to tie yellow ribbons to the fence on Wednesday afternoon, representing the thousands of people still unaccounted for.
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