Bay St. Louis natives affected by the Maui wildfires
Two Bay St. Louis natives detail the destruction and loss of life the Maui wildfires left in its path and what it cost them firsthand.
“Awful. It was so disheartening to see like, oh I mean, it’s not just like one home. It’s everything.”
Bay St. Louis natives Melissa and Caroline Fay have lived on the island of Maui for a decade, calling it their paradise.
On August 9th, everything changed. Something felt eerie and then the power shut off. Roadways started to get blocked off.
Melissa, the oldest of the two Fay sisters, said she was just trying to reach Caroline to make sure she was okay. “I got through to her. I don’t know how she said she didn’t even have service but I got through and then her call dropped. So, I left that area and went to her house but it took it I mean, this is all within like, a mile a mile to two miles from each other where we were, where the call dropped where she lived, and it took me over an hour to get to her house.”
Finally reaching Caroline, Melissa said she would find her outside. “It was so hot inside with the like I had the windows open originally and then I closed them because I had a kitten and there was so much dust.”
The fire had just started, not yet taking over the city and the Fay sisters took their chance to flee to the other side of the island, this is when they heard of the uncontrollable fire sweeping through their paradise. They were in disbelief. “And I was like no, like, they won’t let it get that far. But then next thing I know, it was like Front Street Apartments has burned down. And then after that, it kind of like I kind of just knew.”
With the flames came the ashes left behind by death and destruction all around impacting the sisters closest friends and neighbors. “I know someone that lost her seven-year-old nephew, another kid that was supposed to turn 15 yesterday that died in this home because his junior year he supposed to start the next day. So, he was at home during the fires and his parents were at work.”
The sisters say the lack of preparation for natural disaster and devastation was many of the factors that left the citizens of Lahaina and towns around it vulnerable. “We should have been more prepared not just us as people but the county of Maui. And when our when our poles went down, our electric lines went down because of the wind. They were leaking fluid they didn’t turn the electricity off. They failed us.”
In the aftermath of the fire’s destruction, Melissa and Caroline raises concerns on the long-term efforts to rebuild from the ashes in Lahaina. “They are not really offering any long-term solutions for housing. There’s no, there’s no plan nothing has been said. And that really makes me nervous.”
Caroline says she is thankful to survive along with Melissa because if she’s decided to wait a little while longer who knows the outcome. “I do think that the timing is great. And I think that God saved my life, to be honest with you. I would have heard something I would have probably left I would be in the same boat as everyone else. So yeah, in a way he did save my life.”
The sisters are currently staying at a local resort on the island and are thankful for the help they’ve received from locals and family and friends here on the Coast. To help more families impacted by the wildfires visit @Lahaina_Ohana_Venmo on Instagram.
