Lahaina local shares harrowing story of evacuation from town ravaged by wildfire
Inita Kuresa Fonohema is just one resident of Lahaina, Hawaii, who recounted to Rebel News the horror of losing family members and her precious town on the island of Maui due to the deadly fire that broke out on August 8.
MAUI FIRE: Lahaina local (@illya1313) sent me videos from the day of the fire.
— Lincoln Jay (@lincolnmjay) August 17, 2023
Very intense. Stay tuned for the full interview where he shares his horrifying experience.
More to come at https://t.co/v1EvqUvKIU pic.twitter.com/QUQmcCKfJR
Lahaina is a town of approximately 13,000 people. Twelve days ago, a fire broke out in the area which turned the town upside down. Many lives were lost that day, with the death toll still undetermined.
Rebel News has been on the ground in Lahaina for a few days now, where it seems as if everyone we speak with has loved ones that are still missing or who have passed away.
Although the number of lives lost is still unknown, what we do know is that approximately 2,000 structures were destroyed that day. Of the structures ruined, 86% were residential properties.
The question that many people have is why no sirens were sounded on the day of the fire. Maui has tsunami sirens across the island, yet the only notification people received was a text message alert.
"THIS IS BULLSHIT, we are not stupid"
— Lincoln Jay (@lincolnmjay) August 18, 2023
Local questions why the emergency sirens didn't go off the day of the fire. The reason given by the mayor was that they were afraid that people will accidentally run towards the fire.
For more: https://t.co/v1EvqUvKIU pic.twitter.com/JEdqL6qdoY
With billions of dollars worth of damage, it's going to be a long road ahead to get the locals of Lahaina back on their feet.
Crazy scenes here in Lahaina.
— Alexandra Lavoie (@ThevoiceAlexa) August 17, 2023
Nothing but burned infrastructure and ash remains on scene with military protecting the area. Some parts of the town are completely burned.
For our coverage: https://t.co/3vGi0Ol5l6 pic.twitter.com/4N5m0Xu3V9
Inita Kuresa Fonohema is a resident of Lahaina. She shared with us the horrific story of family members being stuck in their car and ultimately being killed by the fire.
MAUI WILDFIRE :
— Alexandra Lavoie (@ThevoiceAlexa) August 19, 2023
“They were one of many vehicles that had families, loved ones and community members, stuck inside that couldn't make it out and they just were all stuck and found that way in that row of cars stuck on Lahainaluna road.”
For more: https://t.co/3vGi0Okxvy pic.twitter.com/eAUmlLYUoo
To check out all our coverage of the Lahaina fire, visit our website at TheTruthAboutMaui.com. If you appreciate Rebel News bringing you the other side of the story, consider chipping in to help us offset our travel costs.
Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the interviewee as Mālakamai Watson.
Lincoln Jay
Video Journalist
Born and raised west of Toronto in the city of Mississauga, Lincoln Jay joined Rebel News as a videographer in August 2020. While specializing in video editing and camera work, Lincoln has also expanded into reporting and presenting his own stories. With stories from Calgary, Alberta all the way to London, England, you can expect a wide variety of content in his reports.
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