Owner of Lahaina ‘miracle house’ that was only one spared by devastating Maui wildfire shares secrets of how the $4M property survived

Amidst the rubble that is now Lahaina stands a seaside home, seemingly untouched by the devastating fires that desecrated the town on Maui.

The home’s owners, Dora Atwater Millikin and her husband Dudley Long Millikin III, recently made relatively minor adjustments to the $4 million home that may have been key to its preservation.

Aerial photographs show how the house with its red roof and stark white facade still appears in pristine condition against the grey-tinted, ash-gray landscape it surrounds. The death toll from the fire currently stands at 114, and the number is expected to continue to rise.

“It’s a 100 percent wood house, so it’s not like we made it fireproof or anything,” Dora told the LA times.

But the couple recently replaced the asphalt roof with a heavy metal roof and trimmed the foliage around the house to reduce the risk of termites spreading to the house.

Atwater Millikin, 63, said none of the changes made were made with the idea of ​​fire resistance in mind – but it was these changes that ultimately saved it from destruction.

Dora Atwater Millikin said she and her husband recently made relatively minor renovations that likely prevent the massive fire from destroying the home.

“When all this was happening, there were pieces of wood — six, 12 inches long — that were on fire and almost floating through the air with the wind and everything,” she said.

“They would hit people’s roofs and if it was an asphalt roof it would catch fire. Otherwise they would fall off the road and set fire to the foliage around the house.’

Roofs are the main contributing factor to a home’s flammability, as they are the largest surface area on which embers can land.

The couple was visiting relatives in Massachusetts when the fire broke out a week and a half ago.

Atwater Millikin and her husband have lived on Maui for almost 10 years and bought the house about three years ago. She is an artist whose paintings focus on the New England coastal landscape, and he is a recently retired portfolio manager.

A day after the fire, the county called the Millikins to inform them that their home had survived. Since then, many have referred to their home as a “wonder house.”

News of the latest death toll was announced on Saturday. About 1,000 people are still missing — and on Friday, DailyMail.com spoke to officials who say they expect the final death toll to be around 500.

Governor Josh Green has said he doesn’t want to guess at the final death toll, but believes the number will continue to rise by about 10 people a day in the coming weeks.

The house, which opens onto a large lower level and ocean-side backyard, is shown here with its previous roof

On the left, the house with the now-red roof can be seen along the desecrated shoreline of Lahaina

Aerial view of a fire truck driving through the destruction caused by the wildfire in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii

Cars and buildings marked with an ‘X’ can be seen all over the city to indicate they have been searched, but hundreds more have yet to be inspected

As the dust settles over the tragedy and dozens of burnt-out buildings and charred remains emerge, questions have been raised about Hawaii’s preparations for wildfires

Search operations continue in Lahaina as hopes fade that survivors will be found — as about 1,300 people are still missing

The devastating wildfires burned down more than 2,200 buildings in the city of Lahaina, and questions have been raised about whether Hawaiian Electric — the island’s main energy provider — had been warned about the potential fires before they broke out.

The company is also accused of not adopting contingency plans used by other providers, such as cutting power in the event of a fire hazard.

Investigators are still combing through the rubble in Lahaina, and FEMA officials said Sunday they have searched about 78 percent of the affected area.

Dramatic footage captured the moment one of Maui’s wildfires may have started. Video shows how a power line failed during a storm, which could have caused the tragic fire.

The video, taken at the Maui Bird Conservation Center, near Makawao, appears to show a bright flash in the forest just as ten sensors registered a major incident in Hawaiian Electric’s power grid on Aug. 7.

Whisker Labs, a company that uses a sensor network to monitor power grids in the United States, said The Washington Post the bright light was probably an ‘arc flash’, which happens when a power line shows ‘faults’.

Aerial view of people participating in a community paddling for victims of the Lahaina wildfires in Honolulu on Aug. 19

A 500-person paddle-out took place in Waikiki on Saturday as Honolulu residents showed their support for those affected by the blaze

The relatively last-minute event drew huge crowds of mourners and those willing to help

Aerial view of devastation caused by the wildfire in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii. August 14, 2023. The death toll has risen to 114 and is expected to continue to rise

A 500-person paddle-out took place in Waikiki on Saturday as Honolulu residents showed their support for those affected by the blaze.

The relatively last-minute event drew huge crowds of mourners and those willing to help.

“Lahaina, it’s just apocalyptic ground zero action and the scent is gnarly, the people’s energy has been amazingly strong and resilient and I give them a lot of credit for banning together like they’ve done,” said Duane Desoto, the CEO from Na Kama Kai, the company that organized the event.

Deanne Criswell, the director of FEMA, said on Sunday she hopes Biden’s visit to Maui on Monday will provide a sense of “hope and reassurance.”

Spokesmen for Joe Biden’s administration have said the president will visit Maui on Monday, already on the West Coast for a family vacation at the $18 million home of former presidential candidate Tom Steyer.

Deanne Criswell, the director of FEMA, said on Sunday she hopes Biden’s visit will bring a sense of “hope and reassurance.”

“He (Biden) will also be able to talk to people and hear their stories and provide a sense of hope and assurance that the federal government will be with them as he has indicated,” Criswell told Jonathan Karl of ABC. .

“I think the most important thing is that he will be able to see what I saw when I went to Maui last week and just really experience the complete and utter devastation this city has been through,” she added.