You wouldn’t think it could be possible to make things worse than they already are after the heart-breaking conflagration in Lahaina and other Hawaiian communities.

But it is and we are when we try to find someone to blame for what happened.

It may be inevitable. It may be expected. It may even be needed.

But it isn’t helping right now.

Is it really necessary to spend so much energy in the aftermath of such a horrific tragedy pointing fingers and placing blame?

Is that really the best way to direct our anguish?

My heart belongs to Lahaina with so many others who have had the chance to wander its charming streets.

Over the past several years we have made annual visits to west Maui, and stops in Lahaina were a big part of those visits.

We’d take excursions from the harbor, eat burgers at Cool Cat Café or pizza at Lahaina Pizza Co. We’d go to concerts in front of the Baldwin House, take photos under the Banyon tree, buy souvenirs at the courthouse, get shave ice at Ululani’s. We’d explore the historical sites, the galleries – that even sold Picassos, the busy waterfront.

The town, with all its history and charm, is gone. But more than tourist stops are lost. Homes, livelihoods, lives. Lost.

And they won’t come back if we criticize the people who write the disaster plans or the people who were supposed to trigger the alarms.

This event was just simply unprecedented in Hawaii. The dryness, the winds, had never before come together in such a tragic way.

If anyone’s to blame, it is all of us who continue to contribute to the warming of the planet.

All of us.

So often in our society our focus trends toward placing blame when we should be looking forward, not backward. Looking to recover, not recriminate.

It happens in homes. It happens in schools. It happens in communities.

Something bad happens. Somebody wants to blame somebody and make them pay.

But so often something happens that is totally out of anyone’s ability to control.

And this is one.

There are others.

The Hawaii fires are similar to other extreme weather-related firsts that are happening more and more. We now know we need to do more to get prepared. 

So let’s put our efforts toward the future. Let’s work together to support and to rebuild. And where possible, prevent. 

Let’s send love and help. Not blame.

Let’s not add to the hurt. Let’s work together to heal.

Louise R. Shaw is a writer and photographer whose work was featured at the Lamplight Gallery. She is an avid traveler and currently lives with her husband in St. George.