LAHAINA, MAUI, HAWAII, USA, August 11, 2023 (indiatvnews.com): [HPI NOTE: Hinduism Today’s offices on Kauai island were not impacted by the Lahaina fire, which took place on Maui island, hundreds of miles from us.]

One of Lahaina’s most famous landmarks is an enormous 150-year-old banyan tree in the center of town which was brought from India as an eight-foot sapling in 1873 and planted. While heavily damaged by the fire, it is expected to survive. “Banyans are very hard to kill,” said Theo Morrison, the executive director of the Lahaina Restoration Foundation. “I would be very surprised if it wasn’t fine.” The 16-trunk tree covers just under two acres and is 60 feet tall. It turned 150 years old in April of this year. It is a major landmark in Lahaina and maintained by the Maui County Arborist Committee.

At least 67 people have been killed in the catastrophic wildfires across Hawaii, and the death toll is likely to increase further, said officials. Thousands of people have been displaced and around 11,000 Maui residents are currently living without any power supply. Aerial video from Lahaina showed dozens of homes and businesses razed, including on Front Street, where tourists once gathered to shop and dine. Smoking heaps of rubble lay piled high next to the waterfront, boats in the harbor were scorched, and gray smoke hovered over the leafless skeletons of charred trees.

https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/world/hawaii-150-year-old-banyan-tree-damaged-wildfires-maui-lahiana-town-largest-in-united-states-people-killed-latest-updates-2023-08-11-886137

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