Nonprofits and volunteers in Maui have cobbled together countless improvised and urgent solutions since the deadliest wildfire in over a century hit their community.
. Transportation and communications remained limited for days in impacted areas, which likely contributed to uncertainty for some residents about where to get assistance. Meanwhile, relief groups based on the U.S. mainland have contended with a major airport hamstrung by a deluge of departing tourists and arrivals toting assistance from afar.The Salvation Army has been supplying meals and offering counseling to survivors and people impacted, serving food to 12,000 people on Tuesday, said Maj.
Edward Graham, chief operating officer of Samaritan’s Purse, said the nondenominational evangelical Christian organization landed its cargo plane Tuesday with 17 tons of equipment. Most of their work will involve helping homeowners identify family heirlooms and other valuables. Laurence Balter, the owner of Maui Flight Academy, said his “small armada” of roughly a dozen pilots have used West Maui Airport to meet the survivors’ immediate needs. The airfield is designed for smaller aircrafts and located near some of the hardest hit areas. He estimates they have flown over 100,000 pounds of supplies ranging from diapers and flashlights to Costco chicken and oil. He counted 57 flights on their second day in action and 36 on day three.
“In many cases, a lot of these people have lost their ID. They’re unable to go to the bank. They’re unable to get their bank cards,” Ramirez said. “So we’re still trying to work through all of that, as well as collecting all the information.” The Rev. Jay Haynes, a pastor at Kahului Baptist Church, said his congregation started bringing resources straight to homes after they noticed them piling up at major supply drops. He said the community’s strong “word-of-mouth game” allows his team to gather needs lists directly from people seeking items like hygiene products, water and propane.
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