BRATTLEBORO — "I've never been so proud to be a member of the Maui community. They are leading the searches because we don't have enough emergency service personnel on the island," says Crystal Rollins, 34, a native of Stratton.
Rollins moved to Hawaii after graduation from Castleton State College in Vermont and has lived in Maui since 2011.
She says she is "most fortunate" that she lives in Kihei, 23 miles to the east of the hardest-hit town, Lahaina.
While Rollins is grateful to have her home intact, parts of her town were also evacuated. Because of the conditions and the impact of what was happening all around her, the center where she works with children on the autism spectrum has been transformed into a center to distribute supplies they have been able to gather for their colleagues.
"A lot of our staff have family and friends missing," said Rollins, downcast. The parents of a coworker have lost their home. Another coworker doesn't know if her family is alive.
"The trauma around here is unbelievable," she said. "It's a war zone."
A friendship blooms
Meanwhile, back in Vermont, Emmy Hurley was looking to help her friend from 5,000 miles away.
Hurley and Rollins met in Maui when both were campaigning door to door for Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential bid and discovered they both hailed from the U.S. senator's home state of Vermont.
"We've been best friends ever since," Hurley, a preschool teacher at Putney Grammar School, says with a wide smile.
Hurley, who now lives in the Brattleboro area, made her home in the greater Lahaina area from 2014 until late 2018.
"I was sick of the Vermont winter, and a friend introduced me to a work exchange for rent in Hawaii," she says. "She did the same trade work that I did, and she helped me land a job with a commercial flower grower."
"I still have many friends there, good friends," Hurley says. "One has lost his apartment; another friend has lost her house."
Aid to Lahaina, one box at a time
For these friends - and the community she still loves - Hurley is doing what she can from southern Vermont. She is collecting basic medications, pain relievers, underwear, first aid supplies, feminine products, baby formula, diapers, soap, shampoo and conditioner and mailing them in USPS priority flat rate boxes to Rollins for distribution in Hawaii.
"I can buy six toothbrushes for $1.25 at the Dollar Store. On Maui, one toothbrush usually costs $5, and now there are none to buy," says Hurley.
Hurley is doing this on her own but is looking for donations for postage or products that she can send.
"I could use some help," she says. "If others were interested, I'd also like to get animal food to the island. I know that people will also be needing tents and generators."
Hurley hopes that local churches and organizations might help her with the cause.
"There are so many people missing," Hurley says. "It's been a week and only 3% of the areas have been searched. The need is great now, but as more survivors are discovered, it will become even greater."
A devastating loss of an 'old Hawaii' town
"My happiest workdays were when I would make up the bouquets, pack up a truck, and sell the flowers in Lahaina," Hurley says, reminiscing about the region on Maui.
There, 13,000 people lived and worked until Aug. 8, when wildfires, sparked by a downed power line, fueled by 80 mph winds tore through the historic community.
Hurley remembers Lahaina as "everything you would imagine old Hawaii to be. It has an old-world feel, and while it's a tourist destination, there is so much more to this town."
A 150-year-old banyan tree, the size of a city block, is smack in the center of town. It is still standing, though it is unclear whether it will survive damage from the fire.
"It's this beautiful, peaceful place that collects people under its huge branches," Hurley says wistfully. "Musicians meet there and play together. At Halloween there is costume party under the tree. When you are lying on the ground under the tree, you look up and imagine all the things that this beautiful tree has seen."
According to FEMA statistics, almost 5,000 structures - 86% of which were residential - were exposed to the fire, damaged, or destroyed, and 2,170 acres were burned. Early estimates peg the losses at $6 billion.
Many missing, likely dead
More than 1,300 people remain missing.
"On the day of the fire, school was cancelled due to the high winds," she says. "Some parents, who thought they were in an area that wouldn't be affected by the fire, left their children at home and went to work. Now those areas are closed and haven't been searched. Parents are frantic to know if their children are still alive."
"The streets are full of charred vehicles. People were burned alive in their cars. The cars are still sitting there with the bodies inside," says Rollins. "We know that the majority of those still missing are likely dead. They are the elderly and the children who were home from school that day."
"As of [Aug. 14], there are now 100 bodies that have been found. We know that there are so many more," Rollins says.
One of Rollins's friends was one of the missing for three days.
"Emotionally, she is a wreck, but physically she is all right now. She was at her house, but she couldn't leave. She didn't have gasoline, [and she had] no cell phone service, no power," Rollins says.
"Eventually one of the local community groups out looking for survivors found her and got her to a shelter," she added.
Shelters are full, and new ones continue to open.
"However," says Rollins, "one of the new shelters was in an area where smoke and fires necessitated them having to evacuate it. Emergency services are flying some people to the island of Oahu, but most people want to stay and mourn together. We all want to stay on Maui and support one another."
One of Rollins's friends has 11 people living in her house. Another has lost everything.
"One friend told me that she hadn't been able to shower since Aug. 8, the day the fires began. The clothing that she is wearing is all that she has left," says Rollins, who also notes that the devastation surrounding everyone is "the worst thing that could possibly happen."
"If you are missing someone, emergency services suggests that you come and submit DNA of the missing person," Rollins says. Meanwhile, business developers have arrived on the island trying to buy up their land.
"People are asking in their time of grief, 'Can I buy your house?'" Rollins says. "It's so wrong."
Community mutual aid
"At first, I thought it would be temporary, but Maui is my home, and I love it here," Rollins says. "The feeling of living in community with the local people is like nothing I have experienced before."
"It's a collective struggle on this island, but Maui family and community are so true," she adds. "People who don't have anything are offering what little they have. I've seen people who received $50 from their GoFundMe, sharing half of it with another family who needs it even more than they do."
Rollins notes that there is a history of tension between the local Maui people and governmental authority.
"There is a lot of mistrust between government, the higher-ups, and emergency services," says Rollins, who went on to explain that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) arrived on the island and closed the main road between Lahaina and Kihei.
"You must be emergency service personnel to use that road because they don't want the press and the curious to be driving through that area," Rollins says.
"However, since some cell phone service has been restored, we are aware of people in that area who are in desperate need of supplies, and no one is allowed in to help them," she continues. "They are stuck where they are without assistance while FEMA organizes."
Rollins heard from one family who stayed in the fire zone, unable to escape in time. They are now on the last of their diapers, and they can't get more. No one is allowed to leave that area.
Instead of using the main road, townspeople are thwarting the lockdown to render aid to their neighbors, Rollins says, using a rural back road to connect with those who are trapped in the fire zone.
"They are also using boats to get to restricted areas and are calling people and letting them know when to get to the docks to get supplies," she explains. "The governmental systems in place are so slow moving, without the locals even more people would be in need."
Federal funds, but nothing to buy
Complicating the situation is the fact that even though FEMA is now distributing $700 to each family who have lost their homes or been affected by the fire, there is nothing left to buy.
"Any store still standing is now empty. Nonperishable food items are sold out. Costco has nothing left to sell. People don't know how the supplies that are coming in will be circulated - it seems to be haphazard distribution," she says.
"Getting resources to an island normally takes time, and now everything on the island needs to be replenished," Rollins adds. "It will be two weeks before Amazon can begin delivering. The USPS is working, but where do you get your mail if you no longer have a house?"
Rollins told of one friend whose home has burned down but has a place to stay with friends. She went to a shelter, hoping to get some shampoo and other toiletries. The people running the shelter told her that they couldn't give her anything because she wasn't staying there.
Especially hard hit are the children.
"There is trauma for all survivors," Rollins says. "The children have lost their school, their home, their pets, and yet they know that surviving makes them the lucky ones." says Rollins. "It is a collective struggle on this island, but we're in it together."
School starts on Aug. 16. Locals have been advised to enroll their children in the school district where the family is now living, even if it is a shelter. Many children have no school supplies, or clothing to wear.
Suggestions for donations
In addition to Hurley's grassroots efforts in Windham County, Rollins suggests three Hawaii-based organizations - Maui Mutual Aide, Maui Strong Fund, Helping Hungry Heroes - as legitimate and worthy charities for donations.
"These three are local organizations where we are sure that money is spent wisely and distributed fairly," she says. "These groups are supporting local vendors, buying their food locally and delivering it to shelters."
Rollins says there is "such a collective struggle on this island for the simplest of needs: brushing teeth, finding a meal, finding clothing to change into, taking a shower."
"People are going to need housing, and help replacing what they've lost for months and months and months," she says. "We here on Maui are so grateful for our community and the help that others are willing to give."
For full details and verified links to the nonprofits assisting those affected by the Maui wildfire, visit MauiRapidResponse.org. Those who wish to help Emmy Hurley with her local efforts may contact her at [email protected].
This News item by Fran Lynggaard Hansen was written for The Commons.