LAHAINA >> Shelley Dahilig takes two ti leaves, ties a square knot and slips it around her toes — she needs an anchor as she joins Malu i Ka ‘Ulu in making a 600-foot lei to remember her Auntie Melvamay “Honey Girl” Benjamin and all the other lives lost in Maui wildfires a year ago.

Dahilig twists the pieces away and then pulls them close to make a rope. When she comes to the end, she will look away and add another piece. If it breaks, Dahilig will add it back in, and it will be made stronger by its attachment to the other pieces.

The town of Lahaina was like that too. It had many parts, and each was needed to make a whole. The loss of at least 102 lives in the nation’s deadliest fire in a century frayed the tightly woven community, whose rallying cry has always been “We Are Lahaina.”

How can Lahaina still be Lahaina if even one soul is missing?

Dalana Kaneakua, who works as a crisis counselor for Malu i Ka ‘Ulu, the organizer of the lei-making effort, said all of the formal events and more intimate gatherings planned for today show that those lost are not forgotten, and the memory of those who died is creating a lasting legacy.

Malu i Ka ‘Ulu today will place a lei on each of the 102 white crosses rooted into the hillside above the still-scarred Lahaina Wildfire Impact Zone. The organization, which is dedicated to promoting mental health and self-healing for Maui residents, will then connect all the crosses with the long lei that Dahilig and others made. The act symbolizes the unity of those who died and of the Lahaina survivors who carry on in their absence.

Kaneakua, whose longtime rental burned down in the fire, has had to temporarily move out of Lahaina, but she hopes to return one day to the small town with tremendous mana.

“I knew the fire victims as ‘everyday faces.’ A lot of them worked in Lahaina town and I would see them and talk story,” she said. “You don’t put a value on those kinds of little moments until they are gone and then it all comes back.”

Each of the 102 played a role in the diverse community, which was once the seat of the Hawaiian Kingdom, and attracted people from all over the world who came to work in the sugar and pineapple plantations. More commonly, Lahaina residents now work in the visitor industry or in jobs aimed at helping their home recover from one of Hawaii’s worst natural disasters.

They took a chance on Maui

Many of the fire victims were born and raised on Maui, but some like Laurie Allen, 65, chose the town. Perry Allen, her husband and well-known artist, said the couple moved to Lahaina in 2010 — a goal that they worked toward for two years.

“We were still basically newlyweds. We were married about a little over a year before the fire, but we had known each other for 20 years,” he said. “‘La La,’ that was what I called her, got me to travel. After visiting the different islands of Hawaii several times, we both decided to take a chance and move to Maui, the island we were most drawn to. We loved island living and could not imagine living any other lifestyle or anywhere else.”

Laurie Perry, who worked at Imua Physical Therapy, was at home during the fire, while Perry Allen was working 15 miles away. He said he called to tell her to evacuate, but she delayed to help their elderly landlord and the woman’s son.

“They were in shock and having a difficult time leaving the property. She waited far too long to evacuate,” he said.“She was a hero without a doubt.”

When a fallen tree blocked Laurie Allen’s exit, she tried to get to safety by running 100 yards through a wall of flames. She was rescued, but died Sept. 29 at Oahu’s Straub Medical Center.

Perry Allen has not left Oahu, where he is finishing up a mountain of paperwork and other fire-related tasks. He said he doesn’t know if or when he will return to Maui as he dreads seeing it in its present state and the lack of housing is daunting. But he has faith in Lahaina’s people.

“Their love for the land and each other — that’s not going to falter. They are amazing people,” he said. “We loved it. It was our home. We lost almost a dozen people just in our neighborhood. I didn’t lose just my wife.”

Diversity of the victims

Many of the fallen were Asians of Filipino ancestry, as was much of the 12,702-person community.

Almost 61% of the victims were seniors over the age of 65. Seven of the victims came from the Hale Mahaolu Eono independent-living apartment complex on Lahainaluna Road, including Buddy Jantoc, 79, a well-known musician who was one of the first Lahaina fire victims identified.

Jantoc’s granddaughter Keshia Alakai still remembers his last visit to Oahu for her daughter Ipo’s keiki luau.

“I had the baby luau July 29 (2023). He literally went home on Aug. 4,” she said tearfully. “I was trying to keep him here longer because it was so hectic and I only got to spend a few days with him. He was my papa and we were close. But he had shows to do.”

During that trip Jantoc, who in his heyday as a bass guitarist had played alongside Carlos Santana and George Benson, gave Keshia’s husband Kaipo Alakai a Washburn guitar. It’s finish is worn from spending a lot of time in capable hands.

“He had plenty musical instruments. He could play anything.” Kaipo Alakai said. “This is the only instrument left of his. It’s a little hard to play yet. It will stay in the family. So much memories, a lot of it was good memories.”

The average age of the fire victims was 65. Some 36% of them were between 25 and 64 years old; there were three children who died, ages 7, 11, and 14.

Some couples died together as did some families. The youngest wildfire victim, Tony Takafua, 7, died with his mother Salote Tone, 39, and grandparents Fa’aoso Tone, 70, and Malui’fonua Tone, 73, as the Tongan family fled the flames.

Holly Tone, the youngest child of Malui’fonua and Fa’aoso Tone, said in an email that her nephew Takafua was an only child, but did not lack for cousins.

“He was kind, gentle, and like any other 7 year old — loud. His laugh was infectious,” Tone said. “You could hear him playing from way down the street, you could hear him singing from the next room, and his favorite word to yell was ‘Mom.’ He filled our home with laughter and love and we miss him every day.”

She said “(our sister) knew how to show up for us and was there for every birthday, every celebration, every graduation, even if it was from kindergarten. We will always remember her love for us.”

Tone recalls that her mother and father were inseparable. “They moved to Hawaii together, they ate together, they took their medication at the same time, they farmed together, they watched their grandchildren together, our parent did everything together.

“We were so loved by them and so fortunate to grow up with a mom and dad who cared so deeply and were there for us so consistently,” she said. “All we hope to do is carry their legacy of love.”

A piece of artwork with four intertwining circles has been erected at the crosses to pay homage to the Tone family and to the strong family bonds that give Lahaina an edge over other small towns.

Mill Camp hit hard

Many of the victims were longtime community members, including Donna Gomes, 71, whose ties to Lahaina go back some seven generations. She was living in her grandmother’s house in Kuhua Camp, also known as Mill Camp because it initially housed Pioneer Mill Co. sugar workers. The neighborhood, which was more than a century old and had narrow, overcrowded streets, lost 43 residents, the most of any community in Lahaina.

Gomes’ brother Shayne Kahahane recalls that Gomes was the kind of big sister that would “defend me all the time. She was rough and tough. We all grew up with big hearts and caring and stuff like that, but we were also proud and pretty defensive.” Kahahane said Gomes, who retired from the MPD public safety aide at the Lahaina Police Station in 2014, had been planning to visit Las Vegas to celebrate her 72nd birthday.

He lives near the crosses and often visits to pay his respects to Gomes and others he knew. Kahahane estimates he knew 75% of those who perished and considers about nine of them ohana even if “we weren’t blood-related.”

“It’s a special community. It’s so small that everyone knows each other,” he said. “We party together. We celebrate together. We rejoice together. We mourn together.”

But he said he isn’t planning on visiting the crosses today.

“I don’t want to be crying with everyone,” he said. “I’d rather go to the boat ramp. The Molokai people who brought in supplies when the town was locked down are going to be there. What they did meant a lot to this community, and I want to thank them.”

‘So tragic’

Dahilig, who lives in Wailuku, said she hasn’t felt strong enough to visit Lahaina since the fires. She hopes the mana that she wove into the long ti-leaf lei will carry her love to Benjamin, who also was her godmother, and acted like a surrogate mother. Born on Molokai, Benjamin had worked for Hawaiian Telcom until retiring to Lahaina with her partner, Edward Sato, 76, who also died in the fire.

“She was such a nice local lady —never leave the house without telling each other that you love them and always giving everyone a honi and a hug,” Dahilig said tearfully. “It’s not that I have things left that I didn’t say; it’s just that she was such a big part of my life. There’s a really big hole in my heart. Stupid fire. So tragic.”

Dahilig, who is an ICU nurse and was working at Maui Memorial last year on Aug. 8, still remembers bracing for the hospital to fill up.

“The amount of people that we did not see come in, it was very sad,” she said. “I kind of likened it to 9/11 when I was a baby nurse. I remember turning on the TV and seeing all those physicians and all the personnel waiting for people and all the ambulances to come. Then there’s that empty feeling that you want to help, and you couldn’t help. We found out about auntie a couple of weeks after the fire.”

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Anniversary tributes

Nine events are planned on Maui to mark the first anniversary of the Aug. 8 wildfires:

>> Paddle Out from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursday at Hanakaoo Beach Park, Lahaina

>> Upcountry Aloha Luncheon from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday at the Mayor Hannibal Tavares Community Center, Pukalani

>> Lahaina memorial from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the Lahaina Civic Center

>> “Aloha for Kupuna” gathering from 9 a.m. to noon Friday at the Lahaina Civic Center

>> Puana Aloha no Lahaina “Concert for Lahaina” from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday at the Lahaina Civic Center

>> “Ka Malu ‘Ulu o Lele,”​ a performance on the history of Lahaina by Kamehameha Schools Kapalama fifth graders at H.P. Baldwin High School Auditorium in Wailuku from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday

>> Lahaina Obon Festival from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday at the Lahaina Cannery Mall

>> “Day of Hope & Prayer” from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Lahaina Civic Center

>> “Upcountry Aloha” music and food event from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Oskie Rice Events Center, Makawao

For more information on all the events, visit kuhiniamaui.org.