Evacuations and rescue efforts are underway in Maui, where dozens of people lost their lives in massive wildfires.
KLCC spoke with an Oregonian who lives near Lahaina.
Les Comfort said the disaster started with power outages Tuesday. Then he went outside and saw a huge plume of smoke. Comfort and his family were about five miles from the fire. It was several days before he could contact family in Oregon to tell them they were okay.
“And now, because everyone’s been evacuated from Lahaina town proper, we’ve got a bunch of evacuees staying in the parks near us, staying in the shopping mall parking lot near us,” said Comfort. “They have nowhere to go. They’ve lost their homes. They can’t go back to their homes. It’s awful.”
Comfort said because power and cell service are still out or spotty, many people in the area don’t know the level of destruction. His office in Lahaina was destroyed.
“It’s gone. It’s leveled. Everything down there is gone,” said Comfort. “The Banyan Tree is still standing, but we don’t know if it’s going to make it out of it or not.”
He added people can find ways to help at HawaiiCommunity Foundation.
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