Locals, travelers arrive at SEA Airport by the hundreds as wildfires devastate Maui
SEATTLE - As deadly wildfires devastate Maui, people from Washington State are abandoning vacations to make room for locals in need of shelter and aid.
"They were asking tourists to leave to use the resources for what they could on the island," said Tanya Nathan, who was on her honeymoon. "We cut it short and got on the first flight we could."
As Nathan explained, she and her husband were the lucky ones. They realized that cutting their honeymoon short was hard—but the reality for people on the island was much worse.
The latest updates out of Maui indicate that at least 53 people have died as a result of wildfires in the area near Lahaina. Homes and businesses were wiped out, as thousands of people lost power.
RELATED: At least 36 killed, thousands race to escape as fires spread across Maui
Nathan said it was shocking to even see locals trying to offer help to tourists as they evacuated.
"I am just stunned by how they are handling it," she said. "They deserve more. It’s uncomfortable—that’s a good way to put it—we should be helping them."
As flights arrived early Thursday morning, it was noticeable that few bags arrived with some flights. It was a sign of how quickly people had to evacuate, before arriving at the airport.
"All the memories, like that, are gone," said Vee, a local with family who remain on Maui.
"The school I went to, my elementary school, everything is gone. I feel bad for leaving Maui, because I have a lot of family and friend that need help. I’m still thinking about it, I want to cry."
Another Hawaiian native, Genesis Ransom, was blunt telling people: "Hold off on your vacations until we get back to normal."
Ransom said she’s one of the lucky ones. Her home is away from the devastation that’s made headlines, however, she has family and friends who’ve been evacuated from their homes. Some of those people have already lost everything.
"It’s never going to be the same," said Ransom. "I pray for the people who’ve lost everything."
Others arriving back in Washington admitted they were confused by the speed at which events unfolded.
Ken Barulich said they lost power early on during strong winds from Hurricane Dora. Shortly after the power outage, cell phone service got spotty. He was aware there was a fire nearby, but didn’t understand the extent of the damage until a barrage of text messages arrived when he got service again.
"People at home are texting us, ‘Are you okay?’" said Barulich. "We’re like, ‘We’re fine, there's just smoke down the road.’"
It wasn’t until he went to a grocery store looking for food that he heard employees there had lost everything in the fire. It turned out he was staying just a few minutes down the road from one area that burned down.
While thousands are rushing off the island, others are preparing to head into the disaster zone.
President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration, which will provide federal aid. In the meantime, volunteers from local American Red Cross agencies are heading to Hawaii to house and shelter hundreds of people.
FOX 13 News caught up with Aaron Hayes before he flew in from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. He said that they plan to shelter people until FEMA can come in with trailers, or hotels can prepare to take on the hundreds of people in need.
Hayes said that his group has three shelters running currently, at one point as many as 2,900 people were staying in the three separate areas.
"With the Maui culture they sometimes have three or four generation in each house," said Hayes. "So every those that’s burned down is not a couple people and kids, it’s three or four generations. So, we need to take care of all of those people."
Hayes admitted this will be a hard assignment, beyond the typical devastation he has friends and family living in Maui.
"It’s hard enough to survive in Maui with the cost of things," he said. "Now you take everything away, it’s a tough pill to swallow."