Mayor Rick Blangiardi was joined by members of the Honolulu City Council and the leaders of the City and County of Honolulu’s first responder agencies on Thursday for a healing vigil at Sandy Beach Park to honor the victims of last year’s deadly Maui wildfires. The fires occurred on August 8, 2023, and Thursday marked the anniversary of the devastating disaster.
The ceremony was held at Sandy Beach Park – which directly faces the island of Maui – so that the participants in the ceremony could be as close to the people of Maui as possible without leaving the island of O’ahu.
The ceremony was presided over by Kumu Mehanaokala Hind and included an oli, prayer and 102-second moment of silence, to honor the lives of the 102 individuals who perished as a result of the wildfires. Each participant in the ceremony offered a moment of reflection before tossing a handful of flowers into the ocean to pay tribute to the lives that were lost.
Danny Kao, operations supervisor with American Medical Response (AMR), paid tribute to the victims of the fire with a bagpipe rendition of the song Amazing Grace. Tony Simpson, an emergency medical technician (EMT) with AMR and former employee of Honolulu Emergency Medical Services, was one of the victims who died in the Lahaina fire.
“Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the families who lost loved ones and the countless residents who faced unimaginable losses. The resilience and strength demonstrated by the people of Maui in the aftermath of this disaster have been nothing short of inspiring,” said Mayor Rick Blangiardi. “We continue to collaborate with state and federal agencies, non-profit organizations, and our communities to enhance our emergency response capabilities and promote wildfire prevention measures.”
During the ceremony, Mayor Blangiardi shared that he spoke with Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen this week and offered Oʻahu’s continued love and support to the people of Maui and the victims of the deadly wildfires.
