State Sen. Angus McKelvey, who represents west Maui, narrowly escaped the wildfires that tore through the island. Lahaina took the brunt of the devastation.
McKelvey said he fled the fire with the clothes on his back. He spoke to HPR on Thursday morning from the Kapalua Airport.
"I barely made it out. But yeah, I'm okay. I literally don't have anything … but at this point, you know what, I'm just very grateful for that — to be healthy and safe," McKelvey said.
"A lot of families, especially with kids, are absolutely the same, [or] in a worse situation," he added. "Tons of them."
McKelvey has lived and worked in Lahaina for almost his entire life. Now he said the town is unrecognizable.
"It's a huge wasteland. … There were explosions going on all day, yesterday afternoon," he recalled.
"When the fuel dock behind the harbor exploded, the entire place was just raining down in flames, which of course set the boats on fire."
The challenges the wildfires presented are now compounded by a lack of power and communication.
McKelvey said information about resources has largely been passed around by word-of-mouth. He compared the situation to that of Hurricane Katrina.
"Having communications restored, to me, is the priority," he said.
On top of that, the area is also in desperate need of fuel and medical supplies.
McKelvey believes anyone who is able to leave the area and resupply should do so in order to conserve supplies, at least until better lines of communication are established.
"We need to reduce the population down to those who truly have no place to go," he said. "We can get them lodging and food materials."
Fire crews are still responded to the burning buildings and fatalities as they try to wrangle the flames under control.
Follow HPR's live coverage of the fires on Maui here.
This interview aired on The Conversation on August 10, 2023. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1. This interview was adapted for the web by Emily Tom.
