HONOLULU (KHON2) — There are no official plans from the state for a memorial for the Lahaina wildfire victims, but that is not stopping the community from honoring their loved ones.
KHON2 News spoke to a Lahaina man who said he will create a plaque for every victim, free of charge.
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Jason Lucero lost his home on Tuesday, Aug. 8 but he did not lose his sign business Mana Visual. Lucero drove past the crosses along the Lahaina Bypass for a few days before he noticed a paper photo was hung on one of them.
“I could tell it was already starting to fade, made of paper, you know,” Lucero said, “And I was like, every one of these should have a photo because they should have a face, you know?”
His shop produces signs using a special product called DiBond.
“Which is an aluminum with a PVC core composite and UV inks are on the film, so it allows these prints to last 10 years or more,” Lucero said.
Lucero has made about 40 2-by-3-foot signs so far for the victims families, among them is Maile Amine — Amine said her 98-year-old great grandma Louise Abihai lost her life in Lahaina.
“And I personally actually thanked Jason because he actually also even offered to put up that post for my grandma,” Amine said, “and he did it completely free of charge, you know, he kind of just did it on his own goodwill.”
Lucero said families can reach out with the name of their loved one, their date of birth, a photo and a quote and he will handle the rest.
“It’s work that’s greater than myself and I’m very humbled to be a part of it,” Lucero said.
“In the initial days after the wildfires, Governor Green proposed a memorial in Lāhainā to forever honor the loved ones who were lost. Governor is steadfast in his belief that any memorial would be driven by the residents of Lāhainā and the broader Maui community. There are as yet no state plans for a memorial.”
Office of Gov. Josh Green
Lucero said he is not putting an expiration date on requests for the plaques.
“If a family contacts me in a year from now and is like, ‘Oh, hey, I didn’t do that before, but I’m ready to do it now,’ I’ll happily do it for free, printing for free, installation for free, whatever they need,” Lucero said.
Families who would like to reach out to Mana Visual should email manavisualmaui@gmail.com.
