August 8th, 2023 – A unforgettable day.

Part 1

Writing in segments, I get a little emotional re-thinking this day.

Within the 4am hour I wake up. It’s hot and I notice the fan is not on. I check my phone and open Facebook. My feed is filled with information that Lahaina experiencing a power outage and there was a fire that started in upper Kula late last night. I sent a text to my boss and co-super at 5am informing them what’s going on in Lahaina. Slowly finding the urge to get out of bed I get Walter up and light some candles.

Walked out to the kitchen and see the stove clock not lit, pitch black, and winds are picking up. After making Walter some food, I get dressed to assess the situation outside.

I walk out to the main house, and I notice my grandma’s car is still in the driveway and Hurricane Dora in full force. Our neighbor’s roof of their shed had fell over onto my grandma’s SUV. I went into the house and seen both my grandparents are up making their morning coffee, after striking up a small conversation I head back to the cottage.

Moments before leaving the house, a huge gust of wind rustles the mango trees. Branches and leaves falling and hitting the roof. At this moment - I’m not wanting to leave my house.

I pull myself together and made my way to work.

On Honoapiilani Highway, all traffic lights are out. Tress are blown over, branches and debris on the road, and traffic is backed up. It starts to slow down by Pizza Hut and that is when I see smoke on the mountain side of the highway. There’s a brush fire starting. Powerlines are down by Panda’s Express and MPD is directing traffic by Keawe Traffic Light. Slowly trekking my way to the hotel, I’m almost there.

I clock in and walk out from the back office to the lobby. We knew today was going to be a day full of questions and concerns and we were thee to answer anything to the best of our abilities.

“When’s the power going coming on?” “Did our snorkel trip cancel?” “Should we do the Road to Hana today?”

Were just a few questions that were asked that morning.

As the day went on, we got word of more powerlines falling and another fire was starting and that they were closing the roads at the Old Chart House both the highway and down to Front Street. In the distance walking towards us was a familiar face, with a sad expression – earlier she had left work and attempted to make it home before things got worst. She told us, she sat in traffic for 3 hours – to be told the road is closed and the fire had jumped.

Crowds begin to grow in the Lobby, cell service went out.

My last text out to my family was at 4:25pm. We were shut out from the rest of the island.

We hangout in the lobby till 6pm. The hotel has brought out charging stations near our concierge desks and that was our cue to shut it down for the night.

My boss, co-super, and 3 team members regroup in the back office for a brief moment to figure out our next moves. We are then joined by another team mate over at the Sheraton.

I walk out side to the back to get some fresh air and there I meet a worker from Starbucks and start a chat. From our conversation, he was waiting for his mom to pick him up however, there was no cell service, and he was worried for his mom to drive with the weather being how it was and the traffic.

I then offer to drop him off. I knew I wasn’t going anywhere for a bit, and I had just filled the truck last night.

Traffic leaving Kaanapali going up north towards Napili wasn’t so bad, it was the traffic going into Lahaina that was cars lined up.

I’m back at work, I see my co-super and he tells me to follow him down to Waicoco’s firepit – he was able to get in touch with his wife. While making our way to the beach he then informs me – a lot of people are coming back to the hotel and that they had lost their place due to the fire.

My heart breaks. I start to cry.

This is when I knew, this fire was way worst than I had expected.

#LahainaStrong #August8MauiFires