Saturday’s fire burns Olowalu church grounds for a third time
Family still seeking to restore historic Olowalu Lanakila Hawaiian Church
A third fire on the Olowalu Lanakila Hawaiian Church grounds Saturday is just another obstacle for a family fulfilling the dream to restore a more than century-old church.
Off Olowalu Village Road, the church building used as a community social hall, along with storage units and cars, burned in the 760acre brush fire Saturday night in West Maui before fire crews could get there. Two cabins, which were previously used for Teen Challenge, also were destroyed.
“I think we’re about to fulfill the promise even though we hit another hurdle,” said Hinano Rodrigues, church advisor, Monday via phone.
He added that his 90-year-old mother, Adeline Rodrigues of Ukumehame-Olowalu wants to accomplish the dream in honor of her late father, who before he passed away, asked her to restore Olowalu Church.
Rodrigues, who also works for
the Department of Land and Natural Resources, said that the permitting process to restructure the building began two years ago. He hopes to have the project completed by spring or early summer.
“So that is why we’ve been working with the architects and the county to design a new church.” he said.
The original stone Olowalu Church first burned in 1930 and the two cabins were previously rebuilt from another fire before being destroyed again this weekend.
Knowing that areas in West Maui are prone to fire events, Rodrigues said that church members “adapt to that.”
“It’s not the location that causes the fire, there’s also a cause of action for everything,” he said. “I think we’ve been having fires in Olowalu and Ukumehame every other year, so we’re kind of accustomed to that.”
As of 3 p.m. Monday, the Olowalu fire was considered 95 percent contained as crews continue to secure the fire’s perimeter, the Maui County Fire Department said.
The Air One helicopter has also been utilized to put out hot spots on the inaccessible mauka edge of the fire. Around 760 acres has burned.
Another brush fire that began Sunday in Kula was considered extinguished Monday afternoon, fire officials said.
The Upcountry fire burned 7 acres in the Kula Ag Park area.
Rodrigues said he will return to the Olowalu church grounds to further assess damage after flare-ups settle down.
“I think the fire department did an excellent job with the firebreaks, so we don’t think any of the other church buildings are in danger,” he said.
The church as an entity was formed in 1835 and the original stone structure was built in 1868, hosting permanent church services for years.
The 15 church leaders are all lineal descendents of the people who built it, Rodrigues said. Deceased family members are buried on the Lahainaside of the grounds.
His mother was baptized in the Olowalu Church in 1930. Soon after, a spark ignited a fire on the roof during a sugar cane harvest.
During that time, he explained that his mother’s father was also a principal and teacher at Olowalu School. He
lived in a teacher’s cottage that was eventually used for church services from 1930 and after the Olowalu Church was left without a roof due to the fire.
But even then, Rodrigues said that baptismals and weddings have been conducted inside the roofless building.
The property with the teacher’s cottage, which is a renovated structure used as a private residence today, was later sold. He said that church services were then moved to “my grandparent’s home, which was two blocks away, until 1959 when my grandfather died.”
“But before he died, he made my mom promise him that she would rebuild the church,” he said. “And since then, we’ve been trying to do it and all sorts of things have happened in the past, but now we’ve gotten to the point where we’re going to build a new church.”