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The owners of a $4 million (£3.1m) mansion inMaui revealed a minor adjustment they made to their “miracle house” which helped it escape unscathed from thewildfires.
Dora Atwater Millikin and her husband Dudley Long Millikin III’s red-roofed home stands out like a saw thumb against the backdrop of rubble and decay in Lahaina.
Ever since aerial images emerged, conspiracy theories have swirled around the internet, with some puzzled social media users crying "photoshop" or "AI".
READ MORE: Body bags of Hawaii wildfire victims are loaded into containers in harrowing pictures
But sceptics were quickly hushed after the Millikins confirmed they were all very real – and there’s a more rational reason to their home's resilience than first meets the eye.
The fires swept across the island of Maui in Hawaii since August 8, taking the lives of 114 people and leaving thousands of buildings destroyed.
Whether by fate or fluke, Dora, 63, and her partner made a few key changes to their property which inadvertently saved it from ruin – unlike their neighbours' homes.
“It's a 100% wood house so it's not like we fireproofed it or anything,” Dora told the LA Times.
Wind-driven flames were propelled by blustery conditions, while bits of white hot wood would land on roofs, quickly turning buildings into an inferno.
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The couple, however, recently replaced their highly flammable asphalt roof with a heavy-gauge metal one.
They also trimmed back the trees and shrubbery surrounding the home in order to reduce the risk of termites infesting the house.
Neither were done with any sort of fireproofing in mind, the couple said, but it inevitably saved their hardy home.
Dora and Dudley were visiting family in Massachusetts when the fire began almost two weeks ago.
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The pair had lived on the island of Maui for a decade, and bought the property three years ago.
Anticipating the worst, the county informed the couple that their property had miraculously served the blaze.
Ever since that call, many have branded their pristine home a “miracle house”.
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