As recovery efforts continue on Maui, Hawaii where wildfires destroyed the historic town of Lahaina, killing at least 114 people, a BYU-Idaho student is reflecting on the devastation and how close she was to getting stuck in the path of the fire.
“If I were to go back to the last time I walked through Front Street in Lahaina and thought that, like, imagine that it could ever be burned down, I wouldn't have believed it,” said Ember Anderson, a sophomore studying mechanical engineering from Makawao, about 30 miles from Lahaina.
Anderson was working in Lahaina on Tuesday, August 8, with her father the day the fire broke out. Her father works in security systems, and she was helping him at a resort. Her family has lived on the island for 30 years. She saw the smoke as they drove to the town on the west side of Maui. But she didn’t take much notice.
“Usually that’s not a huge deal. They get them (wildfires) under control pretty fast,” she said.
Hurricane Dora was blowing south of Maui and the strong winds helped whip up the fire until it really got out of control. Anderson says she heard a “sucking action” and the power went out. She could smell the smoke. Eventually, she and her dad decided it was time to leave, even though no warning sirens sounded. She says they got stuck in traffic because some roads were closed.
“And you could see the telephone poles, like bending, swaying towards the cars. It was really scary,” Anderson said.
They made it home safely. She says she’s grateful they left when they did and thinks about if they had stayed much longer.
“I feel lucky, and I feel like I wish more people would have been able to get out as soon,” she said, “but, yeah, makes me lucky, makes me grateful.”
During the days the fire continued, she stayed glued to social media to get updates from friends. One of her friends, who was forced to evacuate, even stayed at her home. She also watched updates from a professional surfer named Kai Lenny who was on the front lines of the efforts to help those in need.
Anderson has been doing her part as well, to help out. She’s helped distribute food, water and clothes, to those in need at one of the stake centers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Maui.
“We just try to help as much as possible because we know people are hurting,” she said. “We know people have lost everything, including people. So, we’ll just try to support, I guess.”
Anderson is trying to keep things in perspective. Her home was not threatened by that fire. A separate wildfire has been burning about a mile from her home but is not threatening it. She will be able to return to BYU-Idaho for the Fall 2023 semester. She has hope that the island community will come together in the days and weeks ahead.
“As bad as this is, there are so many people who have pulled together and it’s really cool to see how well our community works together to just fight for each other,” she said.
There are many ways to help the people impacted by this fire. Maui Strong, part of the Hawai’i Community Foundation says 100% of the funds will be distributed for community needs.
The Church of Jesus Christ has chosen to donate $1 million to the American Red Cross to support shelters, meals, bedding, hygiene kits, medical, mental health and family reunification services.
The Salvation Army has also deployed its Emergency Disaster Service teams and volunteers. You can donate to them here.
Anderson also recommends the Positively Kai Foundation.
BYU-Idaho Scroll's coverage of the Lahaina wildfire is available here.