Augustans come together to help fire-devastated Hawaii

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – With at least three dozen people killed by wildfires in Hawaii, residents of the CSRA are reaching out to offer help, from donating their money and time to buying T-shirts to raise funds.

The wildfires are among the deadliest disasters in Hawaii history, killing 36 people in the historic town of Lahaina, with more deaths expected. Dozens more are injured, some critically.

The Hawaiian Style BBQ restaurant at 1719 Gordon Highway is raising money to help. By buying an “Aloha, y’all“ T-shirt for $25, you’ll be sending money to assist the devastated island of Maui.

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You can also make cash donations at the restaurant, which is serving as a safe haven for people from Hawaii who need a place to talk about the loss.

The restaurant will also hold a moment of silence at 7 a.m. Friday in remembrance of those who’ve died.

Some of the employees have been touched by the fires, even all this distance away.

“It’s just completely heartbreaking,” said Assistant Manager Erica Showers, who is Hawaii-born and raised on Oahu, with family and friends on Maui.

She said she was emotionally in shock at first when she learned of the fires.

“Then I went through waves of like, you know, not knowing because I can’t reach the people, my loved ones and friends,” she said.

Then she reached a sense of calm.

“I can’t freak out about it,” she said. “I need to just reach out.”

She said she wants to do as much as she can from this far away, including bringing in donations or offering information for people who don’t know what to do, or how to go about locating people.

She wants to help not only the locals of Hawaii, “but when people are there on vacation, they really don’t know what to do. So all of those sources can help, as well.”

The wildfires – whipped by strong winds from Hurricane Dora passing far to the south – took the island of Maui by surprise, leaving behind burned-out cars on once-busy streets and smoking piles of rubble where historic buildings had stood.

“It’s an emotional roller coaster, especially being so far away,” Showers said.

“The before and after pictures are – they’re unreal,” Showers said. “They’re completely unreal.”

She described seeing aerial photos first showing everything was fine.

Then two hours later: “There’s nothing as skeletal structures and just nothing and people wandering not knowing what to do.”

Perhaps it’s the price of paradise.

“You take that risk of living in a beautiful place, like Hawaii as far as paradise, like, we know like all the natural disasters that are going to happen,” she said. “You just never know when you can’t predict anything at all. So, one brush fire and then a hurricane. And half of the island wiped out. It’s just insane.”

Flames roared throughout the night, forcing adults and children to dive into the ocean for safety, and a mass evacuation is taking place.

At least 271 structures in Lahaina have been damaged or destroyed by the flames.

More than 2,100 people were housed overnight in four emergency shelters, the county said. Another 2,000 travelers were sheltering at the Kahului Airport.

At least three large fires on Maui — including the blaze in Lahaina — are still active and out of control, which means a full picture of the devastation hasn’t yet come into view.

Susan Everitt, executive director of the East Central Georgia chapter of the American Red Cross, said the international aid organization has shelters open in Hawaii and Red Crossers are being deployed from all across the country.

Although she doesn’t know of any Augustans who’ve been sent, it could be a matter of time because of the scale of devastation.

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She said that as always, the most effective way to donate through the Red Cross is online at www.redcross.org/donate for disaster relief or at redcross.org/Hawaii to donate directly to the Red Cross in Hawaii.

“Because it is not an effective use of funds to pay to transport and ship donated material items such as water or clothing, making a financial donation allows the people affected to receive the most benefit from a donation,” she said.

The donated dollars can cover things as shelters, food, medical help and also direct financial aid.

Over 90 cents of every dollar donated goes directly to providing programs and services in the community, she said.

If someone would like to drop off a check at the local office, Everitt said it would be processed for Hawaii relief. The office is 1322 Ellis St. in Augusta.

You can use the mail slot in the front door.

Given the scale of the disaster, Maui County’s emergency response and Hawaii National Guard and federal resources are offering new aid.

President Joe Biden offered his condolences to the families of those who lost loved ones and offered federal support. Hawaii has asked Biden for a presidential disaster declaration.

Acting Gov. Sylvia Luke, who announced Tuesday night that the Hawaii National Guard had been activated, said it could take months to assess the full scope of the damage from the fires.

“This is the entire state coming together to assist our family on Maui,” she said, at a news conference Wednesday. “We never anticipated a hurricane that did not make impact would cause this type of wildfires. Wildfires that wiped out communities. Wildfires that wiped out businesses.”

The Associated Press and Hawaii News Now contributed to this report.

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