Football Provides a Homecoming and Hope in Lahaina, Where Thousands of Homes Are Gone After Wildfire

Football Provides a Homecoming and Hope in Lahaina, Where Thousands of Homes Are Gone After Wildfire
Lahainaluna High School football fans cheer for the junior varsity team at Sue D. Cooley Stadium in Lahaina, Hawaii, on Oct. 21, 2023. Mengshin Lin/AP Photo
The Associated Press
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LAHAINA, Hawaii—Fans decked in red streamed into the Lahainaluna High School football stadium, snacking on nachos and venison chili, bopping to the high school band’s rendition of “Sweet Caroline,” and exchanging long hugs with neighbors and classmates.

It was homecoming, and for many of the fans, coaches and the players themselves, being back at the stadium was the closest thing to feeling at home since the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century leveled their town.