The battle lost against America’s deadliest fire in over 100 years

FEMA made my parents in law jump through tons of hoops to get rental assistance and now say they will not help because we have insurance. Shame on all of them we will never sell this sacred land. We are protectors and will never let them forget what happened here.

The people of Hawaii and specifically Lahaina, have been robbed, and everyone should be outraged. Who is behind it, and what can be done to hold them accountable and help the people there?

That’s my second cousin, Aina Kohler & our home on Front Street is also now dust. Her surf school was an awesome outlet for the kids in the KamIII Elementary school… now also burnt down. Our hearts are still broken… the government needs to help. For the first week after it was community effort for survival. We are lucky that we, and our pets made it out alive. There was no warning. 💔

The water was shut off, the electricity was hot, the children were sent home and no cell service. They sent the people into the fire. The ones that went around the barricades survived. This is not normal. This is how they take the land.

If it wasn't all intentional it was definitely intentional neglect and definitely no support. How sad. I hope those people never sell their land, if that's an option

Long time Maui visitor here, for close to 50 years. The Aug. 2018 fire should've been a wake up call to the potential for a catastrophic fire. No one at the county government level did enough to prevent this. Herman Andaya's incompetence bordered on criminality and as a result untold people lost their lives unnecessarily. Both the county and state government have lacked any transparency and have denied the victims of this fire access to their homes or what's left of their property. BTW my sister was on island for both fires and her oldest son narrowly missed being stuck in Lahaina that afternoon. I am in anguish and anger as I think of what my friends and the residents have lost. Lahaina was a treasure, a treasure that shouldn't have been lost.

I'm sorry this happened to you all. Bottom line, greed is what caused this fire. Bottom line, the power should have been shut off due to the high winds, and the alarms should have been sounded. Tsunami's are rare, those alarms should be for all uses.

I lived in Wahikuli.. though my house is gone, i'am thankful for my life and those of my roommates. My prayers still go out to my neighbors and many others in Lahaina. but we will rebuild. #LahainaStrong

NBC please edit and blur the image of the lady on the ground. This community is small and her family still lives here. Did you even reach out to them?

Then you see the blue car and umbrellas untouched.. Sick, worlds biggest land grab

If you make a request to your leaders, and they don’t listen. They are not your leaders. This is a wake up call. Time to elect new leaders. One who have the best interest of the people in mind. Not their back pockets. This is a failure of leadership. People need to be held accountable for this failure in leadership. How sad, I pray for each and every one of you affected by this horrible event.

This is beyond shameful. Those few people who could’ve acted differently so as to have prevented this tragedy should face the consequences, whether the legal ones is their present lives, or the moral ones in whatever comes next.

Bless these innocent people who lost everything and have to rebuild their lives. Someone needs to take responsibility for their errors. God bless these lovely folks struggling to rebuild and may the departed rest in peace ❤

I truly hope someone at NBC News will dig a little deeper into the people behind the fires (plural) that were used to wipe this amazing place off the map. I have been able to do my own research online and from afar and have found too many troubling details and connections and probabilities. I'd like to know if criminal investigations are ongoing, if motives and means are being explored, as opportunities certainly existed and continue to exist. The locals need added help, as they have already shared witness accounts of things that do not add up to 'just a bad day' or 'just a wildfire that got too big'. Please conduct investigative reporting. Imagine if this had been some other small town or city but on the mainland - like at Carmel or Monterey or Palo Alto in California - what would the response be? What if it were intentional, planned, executed, and now being disposed of? Please investigate.

Heaven bless these good folks as they continue to grieve and recover.

All they had to do was de-energize the power grid before it started the fires & HECO had plenty of time to do it.

This was and is a sickening display of incompetence for all those in charge of peoples safety in the community. A breakdown in communication and action in every aspect. Those who had a hand in this will one day get the karma they deserve, unfortunately at the cost of those that perished.

😢Lord God Have Mercy on all the victims🕊🙏🏽😪Just Heartbreaking! Wicked set of people, if this was done deliberately for land!

It's been 5 years since the Camp Fire in Paradise and there are still people living in Fema trailers. Thanks PG&E and Gov Newscum

I left Maui the day before this fire happened and I am still in shock this happened. This is so sad😢