Mick Fleetwood has spoken out about the “catastrophic” wildfire disaster that ravaged the Hawaiian island of Maui last week.
The fires have claimed the lives of at least 93 people, making them the country’s deadliest fires in more than 100 years, while the historic town of Lahaina is almost completely destroyed.
Fleetwood lives in Hawaii, though was out of the state when the fires began. When the news broke, the Fleetwood Mac musician, who owned a restaurant on Maui, immediately flew back to help provide aid and supplies.
Speaking to Sky News, he said: ““These hills were ablaze and I wasn’t there... I was feeling helpless, and switches were going on and off as to what to do.”
While Fleetwood’s house was not damaged by the fire, his restaurant, Fleetwood’s on Front St, in the town of Lahaina, was completely destroyed.
“It’s an incredible shock for everyone,” Fleetwood said. “The whole town of Lahaina is no more. That in itself is a statement that leads you immediately to the people who lived there.”
“Selfishly, I haven’t lost a family member. I didn’t lose my house. Yeah, it could have happened, but it didn’t happen... I’m really lucky. Now, what the hell can I do? The immediacy is finding people. The immediacy is communicating and knowing who’s here and who’s safe.”
The British drummer went on to implore people to “pay attention” to the situation in Lahaina, and warned of land developers who would seek to profit from the aftermath of the disaster.
“The thought of it becoming some form of playground with no reference to the dignity of that town, to me, would be abhorrent,” he continued.
Hawaii Fires— (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
Fleetwood’s former bandmate Stevie Nicks, who also owns a house in Lahaina, recently shared her own reaction to the wildfire tragedy.
On Instagram, she wrote: “As I am sure you have heard – the island, Maui, where I own a house I have been staying at since the 80s – and the small village, city, most magical place on earth, Lahaina, burned to the ground over the last few days.
“And to make the situation worse my young niece, her husband, and their little boy had just arrived for a very needed vacation before she started up her school year (on her way to becoming a psychologist) for 10 days. They had one and a half days of fun and then – the fire started.
“The power went out at 5.12am (Tuesday morning) but they had no idea why – It was still out at noon, realising that many surrounding houses had also lost power. It was a mystery. My house is 15 to 20 minutes from Lahaina – but still no one knew about the fire. We knew here in Houston, but there was no way to get Jessi (my niece) on the phone. The entire area of Lahaina and everything around it was down. But here in Houston… we knew.”
While some commenters criticised Nicks for her “privileged” response to the disaster, others stepped in to defend her, praising her for raising awareness of the fires.
You can find live updates about the wildfires here.
