The fire that still burns: the mental health crisis unfolding among Maui’s children

Nearly four months after the deadly wildfires, Lahaina's youngest residents still face displacement, housing insecurity and lingering trauma

When the destructive summer blaze swept across Lahaina, in west Maui, Maryann Kobatake's nephew helped ferry a friend's grandmother and cousins to safety. On the drive out of a burning Front Street, the town's main thoroughfare, she said the 18-year-old heard screams and witnessed carnage that haunts him still.

He has not discussed what he's seen with her or other family members. I don't think he wants to relive it by talking," she said, adding that she's tried to get him to open up to her. Because he's had it tough in life, I think that's just how he copes with it."