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By Ryan Mitchel Collins
Since this time last week, the world has turned upside down. On Maui, the Crater Road Fire gave a not-so-pleasant reminder of last August as the county and state worked tirelessly to keep those they serve safe. No structures were burned and no people were injured. Thank god! We have those who toiled day and night to thank for that.
It seemed like deja vu as the fire spread and the familiar smell of smoke filled the Upcountry. And right when the fire was giving us all a scare, an airplane went off the runway in Kahului.
It's a reminder that we live in a dynamic place that has lots going on at all times and things do go wrong. And when they go wrong, they can spiral out of control quickly.
We saw that with the helicopter crash this week off the Napali Coast, where three people tragically lost their lives. One of them is reportedly from Molokai. Officials suspended the search for the pilot of the helicopter (Guy Croydon) and Jim Quintua, after finding the body of Amy Nichole Ruark Quintua shortly after the crash. It was a tragic story that has once again brought a helicopter crash into the forefront of conversations about their impact and safety.
Then we saw helicopters come to the rescue in the fires on Maui and Kauai over the week.
I have to say it was a bit of a scare for those who received an emergency notification on their phones on Kauai to evacuate because of a fast-moving brush fire. The highway was quickly closed, cutting off westside residents of Kauai from the rest of the island. They watched as the smoke rose and turned black from their cars. They went to the Waimea Canyon and watched as the fire got closer and closer to Kaumakani before Chinook helicopters came in from the nearby naval base and got the fire under control.
The Highway was closed until around 9 p.m. when they started to let cars out of the Westside one by one. The town of Waimea was full of tourists who got stuck there on their visit to the Waimea Canyon as they were unable to leave because of the closure of the only road that goes eastbound.
The Crater Road Fire and the fire on Kauai prove there is a need to develop and maintain a strategic readiness for unexpected situations constantly. That's not an easy thing to do and you can prepare all you want for the unexpected, but when that emergency alert comes and you lose cell service, the circumstances change.
To top all the fire action that happened in the state this week, we as a nation witnessed a former president and the GOP nominee for president of the United States have an assassination attempt on his life. The iconic photos of the incident will be one for the history books as we move closer to November.
It seems that if the attempt had been successful, we likely would have seen political violence erupt in a divided nation the likes of which are hard to imagine. I’m thankful that didn't happen and we are looking at a completely different outcome. It's sad to see this kind of political violence taking place as we move closer to deciding the future of our nation in November.
I'm glad the week didn't turn out as bad as it could have and that we are looking at these incidents in retrospect, instead of dealing with the devastation that can result if those who fight to protect the community and nation they serve weren't in the front lines keeping us safe.
We'll see what the next week holds and if my rain dances work.