After the Maui fire, some Hawaiians rethink aloha spirit. Is it for tourists, family, everyone?

LAHAINA, Hawaii — Paele Kiakona is not ready to go back to work. Still reeling after August wildfires ravaged his hometown of Lahaina, he doesn't want to serve tourists, pouring brut champagne or topping their mai tais with honey-liliko'i foam.

"I've seen people dead on the street," Kiakona said. "My grandma's house is gone. My whole town died."

The 28-year-old Hawaii native who worked as a bartender at a farm-to-table restaurant north of Lahaina is wary of fielding questions, including what he says is now the ultimate dreaded icebreaker: "Did you lose your house in the fire?"

In this moment, he said, visitors aren't the ones who need his care.

"Our aloha is reserved for our family right now," Kiakona said. "It's not just endless aloha."

Hawaii is famous for its "aloha spirit," a concept rooted in Native Hawaiian culture that long ago was commodified into the guiding philosophy for resorts and other businesses catering to tourists. More than a chill tropical greeting — an exotic salutation used in place of hello and goodbye — aloha is defined by state law as "mutual regard and affection" and extending "warmth in caring with no obligation in return."

It's a spirit that's been in abundance among locals as . But as tourists return to West Maui, edging closer to the in their