Devastating wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii leaves destruction and death. Residents and tourists forced to flee.
A devastating wildfire swept through the town of Lahaina in Maui, Hawaii, leaving behind a trail of destruction and death.
Hundreds of residents and tourists had to flee for their lives as the flames engulfed homes, cars, and businesses. Some of them shared their stories of survival and loss over social platforms.
Marjorie St. Clair, who moved to Maui from San Francisco a few years ago, recorded a video of her narrow escape from the fire. She said she had no time to evacuate her two cats and decided to drive through the smoke and flames.
“Honestly I thought I am not going to just sit here in this parking lot and well to be a little bit over the top, die in a car because I can’t breathe. I’m just going to go for it, so that’s what I did,” said Marjorie.
She is still hoping that her cats are alive and that she can return to her home someday.
Mike shared a gruesome video of the wildfire while driving away and not rescuing a trapped lady, mentioning, “Humanity is dead. They just drove right past her and left her for dead…”
Bryce Baraoidan is another Lahaina resident who managed to get out of the fire zone. He drove about 40 miles away to stay with his family and is still waiting for updates on his house and his job.
St. Clair and Baraoidan are among the hundreds of families that are now homeless and jobless because of the wildfire.
James and Tennille Bruggeman, who live and work in Lahaina, said they lost everything in the fire. They also witnessed the horrific scenes of burned bodies and animals in the streets.
“Everybody we know lost their homes every apartment complex. We don’t know anybody who kept their homes,” said James Bruggeman who lives on Maui.
“Exactly like a war zone, people, dead people in the streets, dead animals in the streets, cars abandoned, everything burned, looks like it got bombed, it really does.”
ABC7 News reporter J.R. Stone asked, “You actually saw bodies in the street?”
James and Tennille both shook their heads and said, “Yes.”
The Bruggemans are now trying to help the community by offering their company that makes tiny homes for those who need shelter.
Matthew Todd a native Maui activist shared a calm atmosphere of the waterfront after the wildfire destruction.
The wildfire also affected many tourists who were visiting Maui. Garret Tom of San Francisco, who is on vacation in Maui, sent us pictures of the fire from his hotel. He said he had to stand in the ocean to get a phone signal and talk to us.
“At the same time, you’re okay, and you’re family is okay?” ABC7 reporter asked.
“Yes that’s what we’re thankful for, some people lost their homes, hotel workers,” replied Tom.
The fire was fueled by strong winds from a tropical storm that hit Hawaii on Friday. Many residents said they had no warning or time to prepare for the disaster.
“We had no warning. They talked about a tropical storm heading south with high winds but it was barely even an announcement and then the next thing we know the winds are gusting up to 60, 70, 80 miles an hour and there’s fire popping everywhere,” said James Bruggeman.
