An immigrant cook building a new life. A widow preparing to say goodbye. And a couple taking their vows.
All were caught in the crossfire, forced to flee as flames swallowed parts of Maui, that drop in the Pacific where roads wind past waterfalls, turtles glide through gem-blue waters and a volcano towers overhead.
These are the stories of the survivors.
Marlon Vasquez
By the time Marlon Vasquez heard the alarms, there was only time to run.
The 31-year-old cook shouted for his brother and opened the door of their Lahaina rental home to thick smoke and intense heat.
“The fire was almost on top of us,” he said.
The two sprinted. And as they ran for what felt like an eternity, a hellscape unfurled. Day turned to night as smoke blotted out the sun, occasionally bared as a red orb. Roads became clogged with cars. People dove into the Pacific. At one point, the flames chased him as strong winds blew them down a mountainside.
“We ran and ran. We ran almost the whole night and into the next day because the fire didn’t stop,” Vasquez said.
The brothers kept running down the coast until they came upon a motorist who drove them to a shelter where they joined about 200 others in a gymnasium.
He doesn’t know where they will go next. They will look for work in whatever state or country that has jobs for them.
There seemed to be only one certainty for Vasquez.
“We’ll keep struggling,” he said.
Cindy and Bob Curler
It wasn’t exactly how Cindy and Bob Curler envisioned their wedding night.
Unable to get back to their Lahaina hotel Tuesday as wildfires swallowed the town, their driver was forced to take them to the garage where he parks his limousine. The newlyweds shared a couch for the night — she in her strapless lace gown, he in his crisp blue suit.
Just hours earlier, the Pittsburgh couple had strolled Lahaina’s streets, passing the 150-year-old banyan tree and popping in quaint shops.
There were hiccups as they prepared for their ceremony, but nothing that alarmed them. The power had been knocked out at Lahaina Shores Beach Resort, where they were staying, and they could see flames in the mountains. Winds were “hellacious,” 46-year-old Bob said, but flames did not appear close.
The two heard no warnings, so they pressed forward with their elopement plans, driving south to a beach just past Wailea, where they exchanged vows under perfect blue skies. There was still no word of disaster, so they celebrated with at a nearby resort.
“We didn’t know that the town was burning,” Bob said.
Their driver tried to get them back to Lahaina, but roads were choked with traffic. Inching along, seeing fire spreading by the highway, they changed course, heading for the garage at 2 a.m.
It wasn’t until morning that they saw photos of Lahaina’s destruction and realized they were blessed to have escaped.
“Yes, it was our wedding day and night, but that’s only one night for us,” Cindy said. “These people are impacted for the rest of their lives.”
Tracey Graham
Tracey Graham was due to spend her last week on Maui snorkeling with sea turtles, dining with friends, and reminiscing about the eight years she called the “beautiful, wonderful piece of paradise” home.
Instead, she fled the fires, is sleeping in a shelter and is wondering what became of the places she loved.
“It’s scary,” said 61-year-old Graham. “It’s devastating — that’s the only word I keep coming back to.”
Graham, who was staying with a friend north of Lahaina, was about to take an afternoon nap Tuesday when she noticed the smell. She went outside, saw flames and smoke, and heard popping noises.
She fled with friends, grabbing her passport, her journal and a framed photo with a button that played a recording of her husband, Cole Wright, telling her how much he loved her.
He died of prostate cancer four months ago.
Authorities kept directing her and her friends to different points. Once she made it to the shelter set up at the Maui War Memorial, rumors of the devastation raged. She hasn’t been able to reach one of her close friends.
“It’s disorienting,” she said. “You just don’t know what’s what.”
