From the Ashes

“The fire trucks are here,” my wife said as she shook me awake.

“We have to go!” I could tell it was serious by the alarm in her voice. It was 1 o’clock in the morning on August 8.

While we had been sleeping in our home on the Hawaiian island of Maui, wildfires had been tearing through nearby Lahaina. Driven by hurricane-force winds, the inferno had quickly devastated the historic town.

There had been no government warnings or alerts. When the firefighters arrived in our neighborhood, they were already 12 hours into the battle. They were exhausted and demoralized, having just lost the center of the town, with its many famous landmarks, to the ravaging flames.

But the fight continued. Fire trucks set up a defensive line in our neighborhood and prepared for the arrival of water bombers to assist from the air.

Looking towards the town, we could see a wall of bright orange flames and huge, ghostly plumes of smoke rising into the night air.

Not knowing what might be available when our home burned and we became homeless, we loaded our go bags into the car along with all the bottled water and food we could gather. We then went door-to-door to evacuate our neighbors.

When the sun rose, we moved to higher ground to observe the still-raging fire. Brush was burning a mere 500 meters from our house. Miraculously, a firebreak laid by the firefighters saved our home.

As a Coast Guard veteran, I hoped to aid the first responders or anyone in need in Lahaina. All the roads were closed, so I rode my bicycle to what remained of the town, avoiding downed power lines and debris. My cycle-mounted camera recorded the devastation.

I could barely recognize the area, now reduced to cinders and ash and littered with the burned-out husks of vehicles. The scene reminded me of photos I’d seen of Tokyo after the fires that followed 1923’s Great Kanto Earthquake.

Unable to find first responders to assist, I gave whatever aid I could to survivors walking out of the burn zone. The destruction was total, and I was concerned that the collapse of communications would delay search and rescue. We needed immediate assistance from more police, firefighters and the military.

The immediate community response was incredible. Locals set up stations for food, water and sanitation. Mountains of emergency supplies from neighboring islands arrived on small boats within days, and the Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) responded quickly.

The conflagration that razed Lahaina was the deadliest in more than a century and the fifth-worst blaze in US history. It left around 100 people dead, more than 2,000 structures destroyed and thousands homeless.

But what emerged from the tragedy was a powerful community spirit and drive to pitch in and help. Hawaiian flags emblazoned with “Maui Strong” appeared everywhere. Lahaina will need that ohana spirit in the months ahead.