Real reason why the viral red house in Maui remained untouched by wildfires revealed

A few days ago, an image went viral, showing a lone house, with a bright red roofand white facade, standing untouched while the neighbouring properties were burnt to a crisp in the Maui wildfires. The incredible image caught the attention of the internet and soon enough several theories started circulating regarding the miraculous escape. However, according toDora Atwater Millikin, who owns the house with her husband, the reason for the escape could have been a simple and minute change during the renovationof the building.

Speaking to Los Angeles Times,Millikin said the house had undergone a recent renovation and they were looking to restore the structure's original features.

“It’s a 100 per centwood house so it’s not like we fireproofed it or anything,” the landscape painter told the publication.

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She said the house was a 100-year-old property and was once a bookkeeper’s house for employees of the Pioneer Mill Co, a sugar plantation that operated in the region in the mid-1800s.

“We love old buildings, so we just wanted to honour the building.And we didn’t change the building in any way — we just restored it.”

Changing the roof material

She said one decision that may have unknowingly helped the house survive the wildfire was replacing the asphalt roof with one made out of heavy-gauge metal.

“When this [wildfire]was all happening, there were pieces of wood - 6, 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 roof and then ignite the foliage around the house.”

According to experts, roofs are the number one factor that contributes to the flammability of homes. Changing the roof provided the advantage and helped avoid, what is being dubbed as the deadliest wildfire in the US in more than a century.

The homeowners got lucky yetagain when they lined the ground with stones up to the drip line of the roof and cut down the foliage that was up against the outside walls.

The miracle house may have also benefitted from not being close to neighbouring properties -often one of the main causes of fires. The red-roofed house was bordered by the ocean, a road and an empty plot on three sides.

Watch |Maui wildfires among the deadliest in US history | WION Climate Tracker

Notably,Millikin and her husband were inMassachusetts visiting family when the blaze started.Theyplan to return to Maui soon and open their place to neighbours who were left homeless.

Earlier, a similar sight emerged in the historic town of Lahaina where the Maria Lanakila Catholic Church was left untouched amid the eerie hellscape.

(With inputs from agencies)

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