Maria Lanakila Church, the Sacred Heart of Jesus statue, and half of Sacred Hearts School remain standing after the devastating fire.

LAHAINA — Aug. 22 marked two weeks from the last day we would have been on campus at Sacred Hearts School in Lahaina. Little did anyone know that a ferocious, deadly fire was about to decimate our historic and memorable town.

After a night of high and dangerous winds, Principal Tonata Lolesio canceled school early that morning on Aug. 8. We had started a week earlier on Aug. 1.

Tonata called Sister Mary and Father Kuriakose at Maria Lanakila Church to check on them and the school. Tonata said, “Father K sent me a photograph of a utility post that had collapsed and was blocking Wainee Street.” The campus had sustained severe damage from the wind storm. A massive, oversized tree on the playground had been uprooted, and the roof of the seventh grade classroom had blown off, as well as some solar panels. There was also no power throughout the West Side of Maui due to power lines that had fallen from the winds. The power had gone out sometime in the middle of the night.

Later that morning, Tonata reached out to faculty and staff with a letter she had thoughtfully written with images of our damaged campus. The plan was to close the school temporarily for a few days as staff and volunteers with carpentry skills cleaned up and repaired the damage caused by the storm.

Part of Tonata’s letter read: “Sacred Hearts School has overcome many obstacles and challenges in its 160 years serving our West Maui community. We can make a difference through our combined efforts. Thank you in advance for your support and prayers.”

Tonata’s husband and school groundskeeper, Howard Lolesio, went to school to assess the damage from the high winds. On a typical day, Howard was always busy building or fixing something with his partner in crime, Uncle Joe, our security guard. Seeing the damage firsthand, Howard could not contain his patience and climbed onto the roof to begin repairs. He could barely brace himself as it was still incredibly windy. Fearful of falling, he finally gave up and headed back north to his home in Napili to wait out the storm. By late afternoon, a massive dark smoke cloud hovered over Lahaina.

Sister Monica’s Testimony:

“Power went off at 1 a.m. Solar panels had flown off when we woke, and tree branches were flying everywhere. We still had 7 a.m. mass with no song because of the lack of power. There were about 15 people who attended. We tried to open the windows because it gets hot in the church, even in the morning, but the wind forced them closed. After mass, it was just so windy. I took some things from my classroom in the Early Learning Center and took it up to the convent to work. Around 11 a.m., more solar panels began to fly off. Water from the solars began to leak from the roof. Around 2 p.m., I began to smell smoke but could not see anything yet. We began to see smoke coming from Lahainaluna around 3:30. I gathered things, like documents and a change of clothes, in a small luggage bag and backpack. Then I prayed. We could not see the fire where our windows were in our rooms. Because the smoke smell intensified, I climbed onto a chair to look from a higher window and saw the fire had reached the highway right behind the school. I told the Sisters we needed to flee. Stepping outside, you could feel the heat, and the smoke was so bad that it was hard to see anything — not even the buttons on my car keys. Our car was in front of the ELC. I threw my backpack into the car and returned to the convent to grab Sister Mary and Sister Rosel. Father K arrived, and we followed him to the Rectory, where Father Raju was waiting in his car. Fr. K ran into the church to grab the Eucharist, and when he returned to the cars, he could not find me. I remembered my backpack that I had thrown into our car. I ran to get it because it had my important documents. It was so dark and hot that I tripped and fell. At that point, there were trees already on fire in the Cemetery. I returned to the Rectory parking lot, and we escaped in Fr. K and Fr. Raju’s cars. Sr. Rosel, Fr. Raju, and I were in one car, and Fr. K and Sr. Mary were in the other. The plan was to make it up to Kapalua. Our car turned right on Dickenson Street to escape down Front Street, but someone was yelling and signaling us to turn back around. We headed back up Dickenson Street, made a right on Wainee, and reached the highway by Prison Street. We got separated at the church. Fr. K’s car turned right in Wainee. We made it to Haiku three hours later. We were worried and only knew if Fr. K and Sr. Mary escaped the fire the next day. The phones were not working… “

Sister Mary’s Testimony:

“We turned right from the Parish parking lot, trying to get to Lahainaluna, but could not see anything. We drove past McDonald’s, past the Outlets, and turned left on Baker Street towards Front Street. It became dark like night, and the fire began to attack us from both sides of the roads. The truck next to us caught on fire. You could see fire flying. Father and I saw our car was in the red, and we worried we would run out of gas and began praying the Rosary in the car. I continued in between words to tell Fr. what direction to go. We made it to Front Street. The houses and two palm trees beside us caught fire. There was nothing to do but continue slowly through the fire. Everyone was trying to get out. On Front Street, through the darkness and smoke, we saw three people that needed help. They jumped into our car, smoky, disoriented, and crying. They were three tourists from Oregon. We made it to the highway and escaped north. We dropped the three evacuees at Times Grocery Store in Honokowai and reached Howard and Tonata’s house in Napili.”

Sister Mary is convinced the Rosary in her hand helped them survive the flames. Both cars escaped this devastating fire — one fleeing south and the other north, leaving their home, school and beloved church, never to see Lahaina Town as it was ever again. So many lives were lost, possibly over 1,000 still missing, and thousands of children without a school to attend.

By some miracle, Maria Lanakila Church is still standing, untouched by the deadly flames. Part of Sacred Hearts School is also standing. When communication was finally possible, Tonata addressed the School’s Ohana with her heartfelt condolences, which included, “What happened to our Lahaina community is incomprehensible and heartbreaking. I pray that we are comforted by the love of family and friends and remain steadfast in faith that God will provide a way for our community to recover and rebuild…” and “Despite all the turmoil, there is hope that a promising future awaits us. Our Maria Lanakila Church, Sacred Heart of Jesus statue, and half of our School remain standing. When I first learned of this miraculous occurrence, I felt encouraged that Sacred Hearts School must continue its work and mission.”

The island community’s love and support have been amazing. We are thankful for the many donations of school supplies. It has been inspiring watching the teachers and staff come together to try to keep our school going through all of this. Since we do not have classrooms yet, teachers have even been storing their classroom supplies donated to them in their cars. Getting our school running successfully will also take a lot of fundraising efforts. Please consider donating to our Sacred Hearts School Fire Recovery Fund. Money raised will help rebuild the school and sponsor tuitions that the school is covering. Sacred Hearts has taken in many kids from its Religious Education Program and the Public School community. Donations can be made on our website at www.shsmaui.org/giving, or checks can be made to the Hawaii Catholic Foundation. In the memo area, you must note: Sacred Hearts School Relief Fund and mail it to P.O. Box 1450, Kihei, HI 96753.

Tonata and her staff are determined to return children to the classrooms. The faculty has been working diligently to find temporary land for our campus. Maui Land and Pine have been helping us secure a new home.

For now, our campus will be at the Sacred Hearts Mission Church as the search continues. Classes are scheduled to begin on Monday, Aug. 28. Since the space is small, the school will start on a rotational schedule.

Applications for Kindergarten through 12th grade are still being accepted at www.shsmaui.org.

Please consider donating to our Sacred Hearts School Fire Recovery Fund. Money raised will help us relocate, rebuild the school, sponsor tuitions and help with operational costs.