A documentary chronicling Lahaina’s recovery after the 2023 wildfires will screen at the Lobero Theatre this week, bringing firsthand accounts of loss, resilience and rebuilding to Santa Barbara and opening a broader conversation about long-term recovery and shared environmental risk.
“Lahaina: Voices of Change” will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Lobero Theatre, followed by a panel discussion featuring Maui community leaders, first responders and relief organizations involved in the ongoing recovery effort.
The event, presented by Lele Aloha in association with Gold House, OluKai and the Ama OluKai Foundation, will benefit grassroots recovery efforts in Lahaina.
Pat McElroy, former Santa Barbara City Fire Chief and longtime local firefighter, said bringing the film to Santa Barbara is about creating a connection between Lahaina and Santa Barbara, two coastal communities that have both faced devastating wildfire events and their aftermath.
“People think the story ends after the fires, but for the community, it’s still ongoing,” he said. “This gives people a better understanding of what recovery really looks like over time.”
He said the event offers Santa Barbara residents an opportunity to see their own experiences reflected in Lahaina’s recovery.
“There are a lot of parallels between Lahaina and communities here,” he said. “That’s part of why this matters locally.”
The film centers on firsthand accounts from Lahaina residents, cultural practitioners and community leaders as they navigate the long-term process of rebuilding following one of the deadliest wildfires in recent U.S. history.
Through personal stories and interviews, it explores the physical destruction left behind, the emotional toll and the ongoing work required to restore a community.
For Santa Barbara audiences, the story may feel familiar. In a region shaped by wildfire and post-fire flooding, the film shows how recovery is not a single moment, but a prolonged and often uneven process.
Nearly three years after the fires, many residents in Lahaina continue to face displacement, housing uncertainty and the challenges of rebuilding both homes and livelihoods. The film shifts the focus from the immediate aftermath of disaster to the sustained effort required in the years that follow.
Dan McInerney, executive director of the Ama OluKai Foundation, a partner in the event, said the same challenges are increasingly familiar in California, where wildfire and climate-related disasters have become more frequent and less predictable.
“We may be separated by 3,000 miles of ocean, but we’re far more similar than we are different,” he said.
McInerney pointed to recent wildfire and flooding events across California, including the Thomas Fire and subsequent debris flows in Montecito, as part of a broader pattern affecting coastal communities.
“What used to be a seasonal threat is now year-round,” he said. “This is about being prepared and recognizing that these events can happen anywhere.”
He said the film also serves as a reminder that communities must remain engaged long after disasters fade from public attention.
“A few months after a disaster, it fades from the headlines, but the reality on the ground does not,” McInerney said. “This is about helping people understand what they’re up against and how to respond.”
Alexander Hamilton, fire chief of Oxnard and a panelist for the event, said his experience responding to the Lahaina fires highlights the widespread impact disasters can have across an entire community.
Hamilton, who has deployed to major incidents nationwide and most recently served as a peer support lead during the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles, focuses on behavioral health support for first responders.
“It was the whole community that was impacted,” he said. “Everyone I spoke to had been affected in some way.”
Hamilton said recovery extends well beyond the initial emergency response and depends heavily on the strength of local connections.
“A community will recover faster if there’s that connectedness,” he said. “That resilience of spirit is what helps people get through these disasters.”
The screening is expected to highlight the importance of preparedness, particularly for communities like Santa Barbara where wildfire and flood risk remain an ongoing concern. The discussion will also focus on the role communities play as first responders in the immediate aftermath of disasters.
The event comes as Santa Barbara continues to navigate its own vulnerability to wildfire and post-fire flooding, highlighting how closely the challenges facing Lahaina mirror those on the Central Coast.
“It always takes a village,” Hamilton said. “That’s what helps communities get through disasters and rebuild.”
As Lahaina continues its long recovery, organizers say the goal of the event is not only to share one community’s story, but to encourage others to recognize their own vulnerability and prepare for what comes next.
The screening begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 3 at the Lobero Theatre. Tickets are available through the theater’s box office and website.
