Maui Remembers 102 Lost in Lahaina Wildfire With a Paddle Out One Year After Devastating Blaze

Maui Remembers 102 Lost in Lahaina Wildfire With a Paddle Out One Year After Devastating Blaze
Aerial view of surfers and canoe clubs paddling out at Hanakaoʻo Park to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Lahaina wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii on Aug. 8, 2024. Mengshin Lin/AP Photo
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LAHAINA, Hawaii—Dozens of Maui surfers, canoe paddlers, and boat riders made their way into the ocean off Lahaina on Thursday to remember the 102 people killed when the nation’s deadliest wildfire in more than a century destroyed the historic town one year ago.

The “paddle out” gathering is a ritual observed in Hawaii in honor of loved ones. So many spectators packed a beach park to watch the surfers that there was little room to move. People blew conch shells both from shore and the water as others dropped flower petals in the ocean.