'In 36 hours, our town has been burnt to ash. There's nothing left.' Dustin Kaleiopu details his family's harrowing escape from the wildfires that engulfed the Hawaiian island earlier this week.
By Tuesday morning, he and his family were aware of the wind and its effect on the fires. The wind had caused power outages for many and had grounded firefighting helicopters. By that afternoon, the smoke billowed much closer to Kaleiopu's home. Explosions boomed at nearby gas stations and businesses. The flames engulfed his neighbor's yard only an hour later.
Passengers try to sleep on Wednesday below a"Welcome to Maui" billboard on the floor of a Kahului Airport terminal while waiting for delayed and canceled flights off the Hawaiian island.Kaleiopu escaped the inferno with his grandfather and met up with his father and brother at their meeting spot in the center of the island. In the time it took for the family to be reunited, Kaleiopu's father frantically searched for them, as communication had been lost.
"Everyone I know is now homeless," he said."In 36 hours, our town has been burnt to ash. There's nothing left."
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