SURVIVORS of the wildfire on the Hawaiian Island of Maui shared their harrowing stories after their hometown was burned to the ground due to the blaze that claimed dozens of lives.
Survivors of the devastating wildfires in the town of Lahaina returned to the charred remains of what used to be their home.
Local residents said that their families lost everything in the disaster on August 8, the deadliest U.S. wildfire in over a hundred years.
“I’d say it’s going to take years to rebuild and to come back,” one of the residents said.
Pila Taufa was born and raised in Laihaina, which is said to be a popular tourist spot.
He recounted the harrowing moments when people were escaping the blaze.
“Just seeing dead bodies on the rocks on the beach, bodies in the car. There was a kid underneath a car on front street. It looks like his dad was trying to protect him, but they just were burnt. Pets, cats, dogs, just all burnt right in the middle of the road. And then, before the fire even got to this side, there were people running towards our house; their hair looked like it just got burnt. Their face is all black. And then they’re just all just sweat, running towards us.”
“I got an auntie and an uncle, a family of four, their daughter and the grandson, seven years old; they were caught in the fire down there. They were trying to get away. But they were in the car. I guess the telephone just fell in their car, and they just stuck inside. They got burned,” Pila Taufa recalled.
Around 2,200 structures have been ruined or damaged due to the fires in Western Maui, where Lahaina is located, according to Hawaii Governor Josh Green, about 86 percent of which were residential.
“It’s our home. We’ve lived here for 30 years. Our kids were born here. We just don’t know the next steps.”
“It’s like a bomb went off. It’s the end of all of it. It’s gone. It’s gone. It’s so weird,” he said.
Hawaiian officials had restricted access to Lahaina while rescue teams continue to search for fire victims. Before they were allowed to return home, Taufa said they had been camping in the field.
“We’re just camping it out of here, just waiting for them to give us the okay to go back in and help clean up, just do whatever we can,” Taufa added.
