Owner of ‘miracle house’ still standing after Hawaii wildfires gives reasons

Severe fire had engulped Hawaii recently with lives lost and properties destroyed. However, there was a house standing untouched amidst the other houses thereby generating the term ‘miracle house’.

ValidViewNetwork had earlier reported that the devastating effects of the wildfire were unimaginable.

Aerial photos show the red-roofed home with a bright white façade still in seemingly pristine condition, against the grey-toned, ashen landscape by which it is surrounded. The fire’s death toll is currently tallied at 114, with the number expected to continue rising.

The owner of the house tagged ‘Miracle house’, Dora Atwater Millikin, has now spoken out

The house is owned by Dora Atwater Millikin and Dudley Long Millikin III

Mystery surrounds a seaside home in Lahaina on Maui that remained untouched by the devastating fire that ravaged the area last week. The red-roofed house with a white façade, somehow survived the destruction and stands pristine in pictures showing the otherwise charred remains of the historic city.

Owners Dora Atwater Millikin and Dudley Long Millikin III had carried out a refurbishment to the $4million (£3.13 million) property recently, which is thought to have contributed to it being protected by the deadly flames. However, according to the owners, the works were not done with fireproofing in mind.

‘It’s a 100 percent wood house so it’s not like we fireproofed it or anything,’ Dora told the LA Times.

But the couple did recently replace the asphalt roof with a heavy-gauge metal one, and cut down on foliage surrounding the home in order to reduce the risk of termites spreading to the house.

Atwater Millikin, 63, said none of the changes that were made were done with the idea of fireproofing in mind – but it was these changes that ultimately saved it from ruin.

‘When all this was happening, there were pieces of wood – six, 12 inches long – that were on fire and just 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 on fire. And otherwise, they would fall off the road and then ignite the foliage around the house.’

Roofs are the primary factor contributing to a home’s flammability, because they are the largest surface area upon which embers can land. 

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The couple were visiting family in Massachusetts when the fire began a week-and-a-half ago.

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

A day after the fire, the county called the Millikins to inform them their house had survived. Since then many have dubbed their home a ‘miracle house’. 

News of the latest death toll was announced Saturday. Around 1,000 people remain missing