A little over a year ago, West Maui was devastated by the kind of misfortune that Northern Californians know all too well.

When sparks from a broken power line caught dry, flammable vegetation on fire and high winds spread burning embers far and wide, an apocalyptic inferno ignited upcountry and burned a path all the way to the sea.

Thousands were displaced from their homes, historic sites were destroyed, and the coastal town of Lahaina was devastated. Within 48 hours, the community and nonprofits like Chef Hui had banded together to feed and house those who had lost everything and, at first, everyone was so consumed with recovery that tourism was put on hold.

But since around 80 percent of West Maui’s economy is based on tourism, it didn’t take long for locals to realize that a second tragedy was in the making. The message that the region was closed for business had spread as effectively across the globe as the wildfire had across the island. And once the reporters and news cameras had all gone home, there was no one left to spread word of Maui's resiliency and reawakening. The vast majority of the island, from its stunning beaches to its luxe resorts, had been left mercifully unscathed.

That’s the first thing I notice when I arrive, how much the Maui of December 2024 looks like it did on my first visit to the island in July 2023, just a month before the fire: Haleakela still erupts from the island’s heart, green and frosted in fog; Wailea Bay still sparkles; sea turtles still nestle on the soft sand beaches. Beautiful Maui is still beautiful Maui.

At the Four Seasons Resort Maui (3900 Wailea Alanui Dr., Kihei), the whiff of tragedy disappeared long ago. After the fire, the hotel stepped up, housing displaced residents and first responders, providing trucks of ice and running supplies back and forth across the island, and hosting Lahaina’s chefs at popup dinners whose profits supported their teams.

Now, although guest occupancy (and room rates) is lower than it was before, the resort is once again devoting all they’ve got to giving guests the experience of their White Lotus dreams (yes, this is where Season 1 was filmed). They’ve just refreshed the lobby’s breezy design and have created a weekly Live Aloha artisan market for guests to shop local without leaving the property. Their flagship restaurant, Ferraro’s, recently debuted a new menu of excellent coastal Italian fare.

They’ve also doubled down on cultural experiences with the help of the resort’s native director of Hawaiian programming. Guests now have the opportunity to join a Wayfinders Journey, a multi-course dinner of traditional foods onboard a catamaran that culminates in a talk under the stars about Indigenous navigation and mythology. You can also get a rare look at a competitive hula dance school, which holds its typically closed-door practices out in the open at the hotel on Monday evenings.

Wailea, where the Four Seasons is perched above its picture-perfect bay, is 30 miles from Lahaina, which bore the brunt of 2023’s fire. So it’s only natural it feels untouched by tragedy. In Lahaina, though, while the historic core is still a work in progress, nearly every other business in town reopened months ago. You can still spend a great day there, I’m told, so I drive out to do just that.

At Lahaina’s last remaining Front Street restaurant Māla Ocean Tavern (1307 Front St.), a place so close to the water that waves literally crash against its side, I brunch on a benedict made local with hunks of seared ahi and wasabi hollandaise and freshly pressed watermelon juice. Business is still slower than they’d like it to be, says general manager Ingrid Lynch, but they’re giving it everything they’ve got to bring Māla back to life, including happy hour live music and art popups, bands, and DJs at night. “Things are slowly getting better,” she says. “We’re not giving up.”

Next it’s on to Hawaii’s oldest butterfly farm and only walk-in butterfly flight house. On the Maui Butterfly Farm Tour (820 Olowalu Village Rd.), they don’t just teach about the insects’ life cycles, they encourage guests to (gently) beckon the fluttery jewels to perch on fingers and bunches of flowers. It’s as magical as it sounds.

At Maui Ku’ia Estate Chocolate (78 Ulupono St., Ste. 1), where the flames came within 100 yards of the bespoke artisan factory, a tour goes inside the chocolate-making process with founder and head chocolate maker Gunars Valkirs. They grow some of their own cacao right in West Maui, along with the mango and guava fruit trees with which they flavor some varieties, and donate 100 percent of their net profits to local charities. The rooftop tasting room plies an endless array of chocolate whether you’ve taken the tour or not and, on Sunday afternoons, a jazz band plays the soundtrack as the sun sets over the ocean.

Not every Lahaina business was able to come back to life in the months after the fire, but some of those that were destroyed are now writing their next chapters nearby. All of Koholā Brewery’s Front Street operations (including their public taproom) were lost in the blaze but a partnership with Kona Brewing Company on the Big Island has kept their spirit alive. In July, Koholā opened a new space in Wailea (112 Wailea Ike Dr.) and joined forces with chef Issac Bancaco to bring food to the brewery for the first time.

“This was our pivot,” says Bancaco, who himself pivoted “from fine dining to fun dining.” He’s designed the menu around the beer, not the other way around, and even incorporates it into several dishes including the braised short ribs and the whipped cheese served with a massive, doughy pretzel. “We’re a beer company,” he says. “Beer is our north star.”

As Lahaina’s recovery moves forward, more of the restaurants, bars, and businesses lost to the fire will make their own pivots to a future as bright as the past and, once the real story of their resilience gets out, it won’t be long until West Maui is back in full force. In the meantime, visiting the island is as good as it ever was—better, even, since it’s more affordable and less crowded than it’s been in decades.

On Maui, they are waiting with open arms to welcome us back again.