LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Hawaii wildfire survivor Sean Pasin was separated from his family as the island transformed into a wasteland of burned out homes and obliterated communities.
He told “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” he was separated from his family, who were staying at a Marriott hotel, while at a grocery store. He last spoke with them two days ago while in the store’s parking lot before the call was dropped.
“The fire looked like a brush fire off in the hills. As we got in the store, the skies became more gray and dark,” said Pasin, a U.S. Army veteran. When he walked out of the store, he knew “it said time to get out of there.”
Pasin has been trying to get back to the hotel to find his family, but the roads of Maui are now charred beyond recognition.
Pasin said that no one has conveyed a message to his family that he’s OK, and he doesn’t know if they’re oOK. “We’ve been trying to get answers from Marriott Vacation Club. … There’s no plan.”
The death toll has increased to at least 53, and more than 1,000 structures were destroyed by fires.
A flyover of historic Lahaina showed entire neighborhoods that had been a vibrant vision of color and island life reduced to gray ash. Block after block was nothing but rubble and blackened foundations, including along famous Front Street, where tourists shopped and dined just days ago. Boats in the harbor were scorched, and smoke hovered over the town, which dates to the 1700s and is the biggest community on the island’s west side.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
