Student reflects on his experience of the Maui Fire
Alexander DePatie, senior, reflects on witnessing one of the most deadly wildfires in American history, which subsequently engulfed the entire city of Lahaina ranking it as one of the most deadly wildfires in American history, destroying a home known to 13,000 people.
DePatie arrived in Maui on Sunday, Aug. 6 for his ordinary family vacation. DePatie and his family enjoyed their first day at the Westin Hotel in the town of Ka’anapali. “It was exactly what we expected, it was just a fun day. Mostly just chilling in the pool and just hanging out for the day, exactly what we would do during a vacation.” DePatie said.
During the Morning of Aug.8, heavy trade winds from Hurricane Dora sparked a great storm, and fanned the deadly wildfire. While reflecting on the experience as a whole, DePatie highlighted the dichotomy of people within desperate situations, how disaster brings the best out of some and the worst out of others. “It’s super interesting to see the variety of people. There are some real [jerks] who are [angry] at the hotel because, ‘blah, blah, the power is [out], I’m not paying for this, and all that,” DePatie said. “There are also other people who are just great people. There are people who’ve lost their Airbnb, but they ended up being volunteers during their vacation. It’s just the disparity between really great people and really just [horrible and selfish] tourists that just don’t [care] about anyone but themselves.”
Throughout the day, DePatie and his family looked for food, as his mother is a type one diabetic and not eating could be fatal. DePatie and his family then returned to their hotel, which had lost most of its power due to the storm. “I walked back to our room so I could grab a charger, they had generators in the lobby. I look back and there is this giant fire, it just covers the sky that you would usually look at on the horizon,” DePatie said. “I’m talking to my family, I’m like, ‘Hey, it’s actually a fire over there.’ but still, it’s not registering to anyone that it’s a real problem.”
That night, DePatie’s familymet and comforted a woman who had lost everything in the fire.“There was a lady who walked in that night. She goes up to my dad who’s sitting down and asks, ‘Can I sit down? I just lost everything,’DePatie said. “That was definitely the [oh shoot] moment, it’s really affecting people.” DePatie said.
To this day, DePatie is still in contact with the woman’s daughter, and is helping her with supporting and promoting a charity called Lahaina rise on social media. “I think the whole point of Lahaina Rise is to get [Maui locals] the money that they actually need. The idea is to donate $808 per family that lost their home,” DePatie said.
During the tragedy, DePatietook to social media to document not only his experience, but what it was like to be there during the chaos.“I think social media could be used as a tool to help people who are in need, to help people understand the situation is really going on,” DePatie said. He still intends on helping raise awareness for Lahaina rise and shining a spotlight on Maui recovery efforts, despite being home in California. “It is good to keep raising awareness about things that have happened, this may have happened three weeks ago, but they’re gonna be dealing with it for a year,” DePatie said.
