Lahaina Town
Aloha Folks,
I decided to share the latest on Lahaina and my life. It’s a lot. So, for those of you who aren’t in a space for this, I totally understand and you should exit this blog.
The weekend of August 5th was one of the best weekends of my life. Followed by one of the worst weeks imaginable. Yet, still I am so grateful. I’ll start with the important pieces, my partner is alive, our house is intact, water is not contaminated, & we have power. Do we have internet or cell service? No. Spotty at best. However, we have so much more than so many other people.
What I hadn’t shared in updates online, because each time I tried I broke down, was that I was not with my partner until Sunday August 13th. August 7th the hurricane rolled in and August 8th is when the fires started in my town.
August 5th, I received my Stó:lō name Iyémote (sounds like E-O-Mo-Té) meaning Strives for Empowerment (side note: we don’t pick our own names, the elders, indigenous council and organizers do. So, wow! Amazing! I love my name). My partner’s and my parents had our first family vacation together with my brother, sister-in-law, and niece. I met the rest of my Stó:lō family. Then Monday, my partner flew home during the beginning of the hurricane & I stayed in WA to teach the Puyallup Tribe & Top Model Bootcamp empowerment self-defense (I know, two very random groups). I planned to follow my partner home after that. I was on cloud 9 until Monday evening when something just didn’t feel right. I even ordered two box cases of water from Amazon for no good reason other than a feeling. My partner texted me that he made it safe but that it was windy, however nothing to worry about. The next day, I felt the same ominous feeling. I wondered if it was something I ate. Then my partner contacted me sending a message that all power lines were down, phone lines were down but everything was okay & not to worry & when he went on the roof there was a little bit of a signal. Then I received a text later that day that a fire had started but it was far away from the house and not to worry. A few hours later, the call happened that changed everything. It was barely audible but said, the fire was larger than expected and he needed me to listen, with no internet and little to no phone service he needed me to be his eyes and ears over the coming days because the fire was headed north in our direction and it was huge. He also said he would be okay and not to worry. In my mind I thought, ‘Seriously?! How can I not worry?’
That week, I got a few hours of sleep at a time. Two other fires moved towards our house in the following days, there were looters in Lahaina but after scanning, none were reported near our house. A riot happened but that was in downtown Lahaina and we live 10 minutes away. I will preface this by saying residents were denied entry who had supplies to help their families and many Lahaina town residents were without food and water. The looters also were most likely looting out of desperation. However they were armed, so this has been something wary we have had to navigate more recently. Think Mad Max and that is what some friends described.
For those who know me, I take action. So, I organized with my mom and dad, getting donations and care packages for my trip home. During the day of the main fire I taught for 6 hours. I wondered if this is what I should do but when I teach it calms me and it’s what I love. I needed that. Back to organizing, I got Trader Joe’s to donate food, hand sanitizer, and dry shampoo (staff also pooled together their own money for the cause. Trader Joe’s, we love you!). My mom bought my partner and me nonperishables foods. I connected with the founder of Raising Girls who brought feminine products to girls in need. She donated hygiene products. My mom does grants for the homeless and knows what they need. So, she went and bought supplies and new shirts, underwear, and socks. We put all this together with water in packages and that was Friday, August 11th. Indivisible Tacoma, an environmental activist group, donated as well. At this point, I knew I would crash if I didn’t do self-care, so I spent the day doing so with my mom.
In the evening, I let my partner know where the two new fires were in relation to our house. He almost evacuated 4 times. The next day, I realized we would need services. He would need unemployment, we would need support for our house.
At that point, one housemate who had the closest encounter to the fire had fled to the other side. His girlfriend was traumatized, she didn’t want to leave her house and told him to go. He drove for 10 seconds, looked up and said it wasn’t like fire, it was like looking at the surface of the sun. His girlfriend lost everything except the clothes on her back and would have lost her life except he grab her and throw her in the car to drive away from the flames. Our other sub-tenant was a chef in the Hyatt. He ended up being one of the only chefs left. The Hyatt is the first resort outside of Lahaina Town itself and where many fled who had lost everything. He moved into the Hyatt and out of our house so that he could cook for everyone who came in the door. He cooked 82 hours straight before taking rest. Because the guests were evacuated he watched the fire from the resort. He shared that people jumped in the ocean to get away from the flames and cars exploded because the fire went too fast. He believes the death toll despite the news is in the thousands. Children were home with parents at work when the fires hit due to the power outage. According to local Hawaiian uncle, children who fled said their elders told them to leave them behind because they would slow them down. Several elders died in the flames. This is heavy. I gave our old housemate care packages and supplies to offer to families coming in who lost it all. He let us know he is being transferred for 6 months to Lake Tahoe and would be back after that. My friend and assistant instructor wouldn’t answer the first day. I finally got a call from her the next day letting me know her parents house of 35 years was gone, her house near the Buddhist Temple was gone, along with the Buddhist Temple itself. The Psychological First Aid hat popped on and I started thinking about my training and ways to prevent long-term PTSD. I told her just how proud I was that she responded to the fire and evacuated. Other friends lost everything. One was hyperventilating when she reached our home (which had become a safe haven and rest spot for many of our compadres) and because of her state and her need to flee my partner siphoned the gas out of his own car to get her and a few other friend to make it to the other side which left him with my car as the only escape vehicle. My self-defense attacker Kyle (the big guy in my videos), said his house is possibly going to be condemned because it smells like toxic chemicals and dead bodies. My last unaccounted close friend happened to have been staying in a cabin in the Haleakala Crater and the day she came out was the day after the fire. She lost everything.
Sunday, August 13, 2023, I was allowed to return home to see my partner. Residents kept being turned away. My friends picked me up with supplies and warm greetings. The plane ride over was filled with First Responders from WA. My home-state was coming through. It gave me hope. It was strange getting off the plane, hopping into a car, heading to the grocery story, and driving the North side of Maui. Besides the First Responders, you never would have known a catastrophic event would have happened.
Reuniting with my partner, I found him on the roof. Pretty much the easiest place to spot a fire and he was recording me coming home. He has been documenting as much as he could of everything. I cannot tell you how relieved I was to see him again. He lost at least 5 pounds in a week, now has a beard, and our house looked very Lord of the Flies-ish but he was alive. I tried to unpack but to this day he wants everything valuable in bags in case we have to flee a fire. He is in good spirits, makes jokes, and is so happy to have me here but I can see the hyper vigilance is there. We never used to lock doors because the house has been safe and our neighborhood has been welcoming. Now everything is locked in case of armed looters.
On the bright side, packages all made it to families who lost everything. So, it all went to good places & people. I gave away a third of my wardrobe to friend who lost their homes and with that their closets. I used to work at Nordstrom, so, I wanted them to get nice clothes that were maintained well or were new. It brought me joy to give them away, knowing I was giving away somethings that were their style and that they would actually use.
I have heard from many that they want to help. I know folks in general want to help since this tragedy began. If you know of someone on the island affected by fires, I would ask what they need. The amount of supplies is crazy. I am so lucky to have an online platform for my business and supportive team to work with who understand my situation. Thank you to all of you who reached out. It meant and means the world!
To help on the broader spectrum, Maui Food Bank & nonprofits like Maui Economic Opportunities help locals directly and it makes a huge difference. If you know of others who lost everything please Venmo or go-fund-me them. They all need love and support at this time.
However, this is my warning, so many are using this as an opportunity to make money who don’t live in Lahaina or weren’t affected by the fires. Businesses that have brick and mortar on other side of the island are setting up their own Venmo’s and Go-Fund-Me’s. It’s challenging to navigate. So, do your research. All this to say every little bit to support Maui and the community is helpful. If you don’t have money to give, sharing information or educating others on the fire and the impact to citizens helps.
Sensationalism is also not helpful. The conspiracy theories that people are focused on do not support the families who lost everything and it takes away from the causes that matter.
Discussing how fires are happening on a much broader scale throughout the world and see ways to support efforts to prevent them is helpful and needed.
After this event some fire safety tips that I have added to my toolbelt:
Make sure your emergency safety plan is in tact. While I had a plan, I noticed things I had missed.
Make an “Oh Sh*t Bag!” Yes, an emergency back to have which keeps all your major valuables and some favorite clothes, along with important paperwork.
Buy fire blankets
Have Sprinklers in your yard if you have a yard & spray down the yard and house if there is enough time. Surprisingly many homes were saved just cause of this.
Can you afford a portable generator? If you loose power from storms or hurricanes in our case, this is a good investment. If you can’t afford a portable generator, think about getting a solar powered portable electronics charger to cover your basics.
Water & Food stash. Make that happen. Having nonperishable foods and beverages that last a hot minute are a good idea. Keep them in a cool place.
Figure out a meetup spot to meet with loved ones.
Get portable fire extinguishers and the big cray cray one for your house.
Check your smoke detectors to make sure they are working & if you don’t have them, get them.
To prevent dealing with soot and ash, close your doors and windows. We did this in the last fire closest to our house and we were one of the only houses on the block who didn’t need a major carpet cleaning and odor remover process.
Talk to your friends about how to get in touch if they are farther away. Have their numbers written down and in the “Oh Sh*t Bag.” I realized I remembered very few numbers to call and I lost my phone, I would have the hardest time accessing those numbers (If you have the cloud, you can also store info there but you want to choose how secure your info is and where you keep it).
This is all she wrote for now. Mahalo to you all! Your moral support alone means the world to me!