Survivors of the Maui fire in Lahaina say they were overwhelmed by the speed of the blaze, the smothering smoke and the lack of escape routes.
The couple scrambled to gather their dogs and cats. One rescue dog, Poppy, got left behind in the chaos. Stefl hit the gas in his truck as flames licked at the side of the house.Phil Hopper said he and his family tried to flee the area but hit traffic on Aug. 8. They found shelter in a hotel lobby for the night.
As she drove away with her dogs and a few clothes she had grabbed she could hear the sound of propane tanks exploding up and down the street, one after another. Even though the power was out, Carson had reported to work that afternoon to help keep food from spoiling. On the drive in, she passed the home of her boss, Sam, and watched a chunk of his roof as big as her truck get ripped off by the wind. As she and Sam hauled bags of ice, black smoke started billowing through town.“All of a sudden, it was starting to barrel over the building,” Carson said. “It was completely black. You couldn’t see an inch in front of you. This was broiling smoke.
There was gridlock downtown as panicked people tried to escape and others abandoned their vehicles. Carson watched a couple running barefoot through the street pushing a stroller. She watched person after person run down the side streets until they got to the sea wall and then threw themselves into the Pacific Ocean.
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