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| - Fact Check: Mosque safe from Los Angeles fires? No, the truth is quite opposite
The viral photo of a house standing intact in a neighbourhood ravaged by fire is old and from Hawaii. Los Angeles wildfires, on the other hand, have destroyed several houses of worship, including a mosque.
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India Today Fact Check
This photo shows a house that remained unaffected by the catastrophic fire in Hawaii back in 2023. It has nothing to do with the ongoing LA wildfires.
Amid the barrage of photos and videos of the destruction caused by the deadly wildfire in Los Angeles, one photo going viral on social media stands out: a red and white house standing intact and unblemished in a neighbourhood that’s almost fully burnt to ashes. Those sharing it claimed that this was a mosque in California, which remained safe from the wildfire.
One person shared the photo on Facebook, writing, “This is the power of Allah Almighty. Allah Almighty saved the mosque of California Los Angeles in America. Deep meaning. Best picture of the day.” Its archive can be seen here.
India Today Fact Check found that this photo shows a house that managed to remain undamaged during a catastrophic fire in Hawaii in 2023. It has nothing to do with the ongoing LA wildfires.
OUR PROBE
Reverse searching the photo led us to a news report dated August 24, 2023, according to which, a deadly fire tore through the town of Lahaina, on the Maui island of Hawaii, reducing it to ash and rubble. But, this fire reportedly left a red-roofed house untouched.
The owner of the house at 271 Front Street was Trip Millikin, who reportedly credited the miracle to the heavy-gauge metal roof he and his wife, Dora Atwater Millikin, installed in the house during its recent renovation.
Per reports, the house dates back to 1925 but was renovated in 2022 after Millikin and his wife bought it in 2021. The couple had also removed all the vegetation around the house and installed river stones. The only damage incurred by the fire was a PCV pipe on the walls.
At the time of the fire, the couple was not in Lahaina. A close-up shot of the house in one of the news reports, however, showed signs of damage on the structure of the house and the paint peeling off due to the August 2023 fire.
More than 100 people died and at least 2,200 buildings were destroyed by a deadly fire in Maui on August 8, 2023. According to Getty Images, the photo in question was captured by Patrick T Fallon of the AFP two days after the wildfire, on August 10, 2023.
We also found satellite images of the area showing the neighbourhood before and after the fire.
The LA wildfires, on the other hand, have reportedly destroyed the Masjid Al-Taqwa mosque, the Pasadena Jewish Temple, and the Altadena United Methodist Church, among other places of worship.
It is thus, clear that the viral photo does not show a mosque which remained unaffected by the deadly LA fires.
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