100-year-old ‘miracle house’ in Lahaina survives deadly Maui fire

globalnews.ca:

Maui wildfires blazed through the town of Lahaina, Hawaii this month, the inferno created a trail of destruction and devastation, but it stopped short of one single home.In a breathtaking photo, the lone, 100-year-old wooden house on Front Street is seen unscathed alongside numerous other properties that have been turned to ash and rubble.The photo has already achieved viral status on social media, with many calling the red-roofed residence a “miracle house.”Homeowners Trip Millikin and Dora Atwater Millikin told the local outlet Honolulu Civil Beat they purchased the property in 2021.The couple was in Massachusetts as wildfires began on Aug. 8.

They assumed their home would be lost.When a friend later showed the Millikins’ a photo of their house standing alone after the fire, surrounded by other not-so-lucky properties, their feelings were complicated.“It looks like it was photoshopped in,” Trip told the Civil Beat. “We started crying.

I felt guilty. We still feel guilty.”The only visible damage the fire seemed to cause to their home was a few scorched patches of grass and bubbling paint on one wall, the Civil Beat reported.After purchasing the property, the Millikin couple renovated the historic structure, which used to be a bookkeeper’s home for a nearby plantation.

Alongside luck and potentially favorable winds, the renovations may be a key reason why the Front Street home is still standing, though none of the changes were made as a means of fire prevention.With the help of local carpenters and construction workers, the homeowners trimmed trees on the property and installed a commercial-grade steel roof. Unlike shingles or asphalt roofing, the steel roof may have provided better protection from rogue embers.