that s a massive amount of structures for a town like that. will: let s give you little context and history, this is near and dear to my heart i been reading and living this place for most of my heart. lahaina that is the town that is destroyed on the island of maui on the west side it was one time the capital of the kingdom of hawaii 1820 - 1845. it was settled by polynesians and maui, the westside is the first place humans came, they came from polynesia in canoes, guided navigation through the stars and they came in the canoes through the pass and this is the first settlement in this part of the world. rick: the settlement was able to happen because of whaling. will: eventually what happened, the whaling industry before we had oil we pulled it out of the ground to heat our homes we used whale blubber, the whaling industry was centered in
maui locals have never seen anything like the firestorm that obliterated lahaina. we saw a little smolder of smoke. then now there s a little brush fire. within five minutes the whole thing was engulfed and went up in flames. there was nobody to put anything out. reporter: we re getting our first glimpse at this town after hearing these nightmare stories. it is worse than you can imagine. it looks like a world war ii set, like a bomb went off here, utter scorched devastation everywhere, melted boats in the harbor. what was once the capital of the kingdom of hawaii and one of the most well-preserved towns in the nation is ash. this man escaped the flames on his harley-davidson. had i taken the car, i d probably have been with
many of the early kings and queens of the kingdom of hawaii are buried, that was engulfed in flames, which you can see in that picture right there. angela hyena heritage museum, which sits in a historic courthouse and houses ancient hawaiian artifacts has been destroyed by the wildfires. joining me now is todd to wieke ten, on professor of ethnic studies at the university of hawaii in manila. i imagine this is a difficult time for hawaiians in america just watching it unfold. our condolences to you and anyone you know on the island. for us on the mainland here, we talk so little and honestly know so little about hawaii s precolonial history. what does it mean to have these artifacts and the structures destroyed by the wildfire? thanks, alex, and first i d like to lift up all of those who have been impacted by the fires in hawaii and maui and we appreciate all the thoughts and
the walls of wylo it shirt, a teen twenties house of worship, where many of the early kings and queens of the kingdom of hawaii are buried, that was engulfed in flames, which you can see in that picture right there. and then behind a heritage museum, which sits in a historic courthouse and houses ancient hawaiian artifacts, has been destroyed by the wildfires. joining me now is a professor of anthropology and ethnic studies at the university of hawai i at manoa,. professor, thank you for being here. i imagine this is a difficult time for hawaiians, as it is for all of us in america, just watching it unfold, and our condolences to you and anyone you know on the island. for us on the mainland here, we talk so little, and honestly, no so little, about hawaii s precolonial history. what does it mean to have these artifacts and the structures destroyed by the wildfire? thanks, alex, and first i d like to lift up all of those who have been impacted by the
deadliest u.s. wildfires in decades. in lahaina, which is one of the hardest hit towns on the island of maui, historically culturally significant sites have been effectively been reduced to ash and rubble. and that includes the famous 150-year-old banyan tree. it is now severely burnt but thankfully it is still standing. the historical baldwin home museum which is an 1830s era house once home to a medical missionary who vaccinated the island against smallpox and believed to be the oldest home in maui, that has burned down. the walls of a church, an 1820s house of worship where many of the early kings and queens of the kingdom of hawaii were buried, that was engulfed in flames, which you can see in that picture right there. and the lahaina heritage museum which sits in a historic courthouse and houses ancient