Santa Barbara–Based Unite to Light Sends Lamps and Chargers to Lahaina

This article was originally published in UCSB’s ‘The Current‘.

The smoke. The soot. The devastation. No one understands what it’s like to survive a wildfire … except another survivor of wildfire. So when Lahaina called for aid in the wake of the disastrous fires in West Maui earlier this month, a couple of Santa Barbara-based organizations were quick to answer.

Upon hearing last week of the need for electricity, lighting and communication to help the local population to recover, Santa Barbara-based nonprofit Unite to Light, co-founded by UC Santa Barbara professor John Bowers, partnered with Direct Relief to send 600 solar Chandler Chargers and 150 solar-powered Luke Lights to Lahaina within days.