Taken in 2007, this is a small shopping area near the big mall in Kahului. These buildings probably date from the 1950's and are typical of the "local" shopping and businesses.

The terrible fire in Lahaina is obviously more recent, but keep in mind that this smaller area burned just 2 years before I took this photo (February 27, 2005). Buildings in the area caught fire during a day of very strong trade winds. A large local grocery store, and several businesses were destroyed before the fire department could arrive.

We saw the fire from our house, and watched as all of the nearby wooden buildings (similar to this one) burned.

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I failed to add this when I posted the photo. This was 2007, and cell phones were quite popular on Maui. However, the people here are just "talking story" as they say in the Islands. No one seems to be "head down" with their cell phone. The family in the background are enjoying lunch at the picnic tables in front of a restaurant.