{"id":2000671,"date":"2023-08-14T22:56:02","date_gmt":"2023-08-15T02:56:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/displaced-residents-visitors-feel-lucky-to-be-alive-after-maui-wildfires\/"},"modified":"2023-08-14T23:03:08","modified_gmt":"2023-08-15T03:03:08","slug":"displaced-residents-visitors-feel-lucky-to-be-alive-after-maui-wildfires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/displaced-residents-visitors-feel-lucky-to-be-alive-after-maui-wildfires\/","title":{"rendered":"Maui Wildfires: Displaced Residents and Visitors Grateful for Survival"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdisplaced-residents-visitors-feel-lucky-to-be-alive-after-maui-wildfires%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2000671&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Heartbreak \u200band Loss: Rachel M.&#8217;s Story<\/h2>\n<p>MAKAWAO, Hawaii\u2014Rachel M. lost everything of material value \u200din the burning wreckage of the \u200dLahaina wildfire in\u200b West\u200b Maui last week.<\/p>\n<p>Her wedding planning and property\u200b management businesses went up\u200b in flames, as did most of her personal belongings, like the hand-crafted table her grandfather had built years ago.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve been crying all day,&#8221; Rachel told The Epoch Times. &#8220;I can never replace this stuff: CDs of my\u2062 grandma. She passed away last year. My grandfather was a woodworker. I&#8217;ll never be able to replace those things.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>Related Stories<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/biden-praying-for-maui-blaze-victims-white-house-says-amid-backlash-from-earlier-no-comment-5465187\">Biden \u2018Praying\u2019\u200b for Maui Blaze Victims, White House Says\u2014Amid Backlash \u200cFrom Earlier \u2018No Comment\u2019<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/san-diego-humane-societys-emergency-response-team-deploys-to-maui-5465035\">San Diego Humane Society&#8217;s Emergency \u200cResponse Team Deploys To Maui<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/bright\/how-to-adjust-your-travel-plans-for-maui-during-the-wildfires-5464434\">How to Adjust\u200d Your Travel Plans for Maui During the Wildfires<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/epochtv\/ntd-evening-news-aug-14-trump-responds-to-looming-georgia-indictment-democratic-rep-says-hunter-biden-broke-the-law-5464931\">NTD Evening \u2063News (Aug. 14): Trump Responds to Looming Georgia Indictment; Democratic \u2062Rep. Says Hunter Biden Broke \u2062the Law<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s all gone. Everything is gone\u2014over $70,000 of\u2064 my stuff. \u2064And that&#8217;s probably on the low side.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Rachel M. of Makawao, \u200cMaui \u2062said she lost all of \u2062her cherished personal belongings \u2064in the Lahaina wildfire disaster on Aug. 8, 2023. \u2063(Allan Stein\/The Epoch Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Rachel lives in Makawao, about\u2064 33 miles east of Lahaina by car. She said the reality\u200c of \u200cher situation has just begun to sink in.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel, who has asked that her last name\u2062 not be used in this story, said she is expecting twins and wants to begin a new life elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>She plans to leave her beloved Maui\u2064 of the past six years and move back home to Ohio or Tennessee\u2014partly \u200cdue to the\u2062 fire&#8217;s impact and for better health care on the mainland.<\/p>\n<p>She still hasn&#8217;t heard from six close friends since the fire leveled the resort community of Lahaina, population 13,216, on Aug. 8.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;One of my best friends \u200cwas missing [for] 24 hours. There&#8217;s\u2064 no cell service. Everybody was just displaced. It was an emotional \u200b24 hours until we located her,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p>Like Rachel, most of \u2062her friends have lost homes and businesses in the fire.\u200b Trying to locate the missing in\u2062 the\u200b chaotic aftermath remains challenging in light of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bill-gates-admits-climate-change-policies-may-cause-some-dislocation-for-2-8-million-americans-who-work-the-in-oil-and-gas-industry\/\" title=\"Bill Gates Admits Climate Change Policies \u2018May\u2019 Cause Some \u2018Dislocation\u2019 For 2.8 Million Americans Who Work The In Oil And Gas Industry\">widespread power outages<\/a>\u200d and spotty cell\u200c phone service.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I know a loss is a loss. But in the grand scope of things, it&#8217;s nothing compared to what [other people] lost. I feel fortunate\u2014and helpless.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2>Leaving Maui<\/h2>\n<p>The irony is that Rachel was supposed to be \u200cin Lahaina on Aug. 8 when the fire started in the highland brush racing into the\u2062 oceanside town\u200b below.<\/p>\n<p>The night before, she&#8217;d received an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-check-no-this-headline-about-apple-scanning-phones-for-extremist-content-and-firearms-is-not-real\/\" title=\"FACT CHECK: No, This Headline About Apple Scanning Phones For \u2018Extremist Content And Firearms\u2019 Is Not Real\">emergency alert<\/a> on her cell phone that another \u200dfire was burning in\u2063 the mountains \u2062of Kula. There were no such warnings for the\u2064 residents of Lahaina, she said. Neither \u200dwere the tsunami sirens used to alert residents\u200c who would tragically die in the fire. Many of them were children.<\/p>\n<p>As of Aug.\u2063 14, the Maui Police Department has confirmed a death toll of 96, which has been climbing daily.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>The\u2062 Kula\u200b wildfire as seen from \u200cRachel M&#8217;s window in Makawao, Maui, Hawaii, \u2063on Aug. 8, 2013. (Allan Stein\/The Epoch Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>According \u200cto Maui County emergency management officials, about 85 percent of the Lahaina fire remains under control. In the meantime, more than \u200b1,000 people are still missing as first responders begin sifting through the ashes and debris, looking for more victims. Many residents have \u200cbeen\u2062 left homeless and are living in tents or temporary shelters across the county.<\/p>\n<p>The Family Assistance Center (FAC) is\u200b seeking information on loved ones and for those who are unaccounted for at the Kahului Community Center.<\/p>\n<p>The Maui Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and FAC announced it began working with families and individuals on Aug. 10\u2063 to gather\u2062 detailed information and administer DNA swabs to\u2063 identify the\u2062 victims.<\/p>\n<p>Three \u2062other wildfires that started last week are\u2063 mostly contained or extinguished. About 60 percent of the Upcountry\/Kula fire is under\u200b control after \u200dburning through 678 acres.<\/p>\n<p>Fire officials \u2063declared \u200dthe Pulehu\/Kihei fire 100 percent\u200c contained on Aug.\u2063 12, while the Pu\u02bbukoli\u02bbi\/Kaanapali fire remains extinguished as of \u2064Aug. 12.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;When a fire is 100 percent contained,\u2064 it does not\u200d mean it has been extinguished. It means that firefighters\u2063 have the blaze fully surrounded by a perimeter, inside which it can still burn. A fire is declared extinguished when fire personnel believe there is nothing left burning,&#8221; according to the MEMA.<\/p>\n<h2>Faster Than People Could Run<\/h2>\n<p>At Freshies Maui \u200crestaurant \u200bin Makawao, owner \u200bEric Ulman said the Maui wildfires were the culmination of two <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/displaced-residents-visitors-feel-lucky-to-be-alive-after-maui-wildfires\/\" title=\"Maui Wildfires: Displaced Residents and Visitors Grateful for Survival\">colliding weather\u2063 systems producing winds \u200dcapable<\/a> of causing widespread \u2063devastation.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s horrible,&#8221; Mr. Ulman said. &#8220;I \u200cthink the crux was the two weather systems\u2014the high pressure and\u2063 the hurricane [to the south], how it sandwiched the winds. That was truly the force.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re used to trade winds\u201415 to 25 [miles per hour.] If \u2064there&#8217;s a spark, it&#8217;s inevitable what will happen. It rifled right through [Lahaina.]\n<p>&#8220;The flames were going\u2064 as fast as people could run\u2014and that&#8217;s an able-bodied person. If \u2063you came out of your house and saw the flames, that was almost too late. It was coming with such speed.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Mikunda \u200bSingh\u2064 (L), his wife Tina, and\u2064 their two young daughters were vacationing north of Lahaina when the fire\u2062 broke out on Aug. 8, 2023. (Allan\u200d Stein\/The Epoch Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&#8220;I talked with some friends in \u2062Lahaina who said it moved so fast, like something out of a movie,&#8221; Rachel said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;As morbid \u2062as it sounds, they&#8217;re not letting people into the west side because there&#8217;s bodies in the streets. It happened so fast. \u2063My friends explained it was like\u200b bombs going off. People were running and diving into the ocean. The soot was so heavy with ash,\u2062 the ocean caught \u200don\u200c fire.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Shirley Andersen of Makawao said a relative lost 70 bee hives worth an estimated $30,000 to the\u200d Kula fire.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s \u200ca miracle they saved the house. The \u200dembers were flying \u2064within 50 feet of the \u2064house. We could see them from down here. They&#8217;re still putting out \u200bhotspots\u2014five days later,&#8221; Ms. Andersen told The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I couldn&#8217;t sleep. I was crying for days, feeling upset. I&#8217;ve\u200b been in a fire before; it&#8217;s terrifying.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2>Dodged a Bullet<\/h2>\n<p>Mikunda Singh of\u200d Orange County, California, said he,\u200c too, feels lucky having &#8220;dodged a lot of bullets while vacationing\u200d near Lahaina when the fire erupted.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We flew in last Sunday. We \u2063arrived at\u2064 a resort Sunday night. Everything was fine. Monday, we had a great day at the resort and went snorkeling with the kids,&#8221; Mr. Singh said.<\/p>\n<p>The family awoke to a power outage on Tuesday\u200d morning and \u200bwere told that high\u200b winds had toppled wires that \u200csparked brush fires\u2014&#8221;but nothing to be concerned about.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The situation grew worse a few hours later as the food in the hotel refrigerator began to spoil.<\/p>\n<p>On\u2063 Aug. 8, the family dined in their hotel room by flashlight, \u2064and saw a strange orange glow on the balcony behind the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/south-korea-logs-second-highest-daily-tally-of-covid-cases-amid-prison-church-outbreaks\/\" title=\"South Korea logs second-highest daily tally of COVID cases amid prison, church outbreaks\">high-rise buildings<\/a> in Lahaina.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Little did we know Lahaina was\u2064 burning to the\u2064 ground and people \u200cwere dying,&#8221;\u200d Mr. Singh said.<\/p>\n<h2>A Wildfire Like No Other<\/h2>\n<p>&#8220;Growing up in California, we see fires all \u2063the time,&#8221; but this fire was different, Mr. Singh added.<\/p>\n<p>The following day, a man in \u2062a truck warned everyone to evacuate, and the\u2062 Singhs \u200dquickly packed\u2062 their bags\u2064 and jumped in\u200d the car.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We packed everything in a hurry and started driving south toward\u200d Lahaina. I got a couple of miles south, and the police stopped us. They were turning everybody around,&#8221; Mr. Singh said.<\/p>\n<p>The family then\u200d drove to the airport but was told the\u200b next flight wasn&#8217;t leaving until\u2063 Sunday.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>The Lahaina wildfire burned more than 2,000 acres on \u2062Aug. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lahaina wildfire in West Maui destroyed Rachel M.&#8217;s wedding planning and property management businesses, along with her cherished belongings, including her grandfather&#8217;s hand-crafted table. Devastated, she tearfully shared, &#8220;I&#8217;ve been crying all day.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":294,"featured_media":2000672,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2000671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/294"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000671"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000671\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}