NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — Some Bay area residents were in Maui earlier this week, but were able to get out before the wildfires really started to spread. Chad Karr and his fiancée spent 10 days in Hawaii most of that time in Maui. The fire started building, and the damage was growing just as they were preparing to leave.
What You Need To Know
- Chad Karr and his fiancé were in Hawaii for 10 days
- They stayed on the island until Wednesday
- Their flight home left hours before the fires got worse
“We had some fires,” Karr said. “You could hear the sirens and they weren’t concerned.” That’s how things were about halfway into his trip to Hawaii. So Karr says they continued to travel to the other Islands.
“We almost didn’t make it into Maui,” he said. “They had closed the airport because of the smoke and because of the wildfires the day before we were flying there.”
He says they stayed on the island until Wednesday. Just hours after their plane took off, he says things took a turn for the worse.
“Phone services are still down. Electric services are still down. The 911 system is down. The communication is terrible from what I’m hearing from my cousin.”
His cousin is still stuck in Maui now. She said the fires are preventing them from getting back to their hotel, but she says things seem to be improving.
“We’re actually not smelling smoke for the first time,” she said. “The wind is starting to calm down and there’s not white caps on the waves over here for the first time in two days.”
Karr just hopes that’s a good sign.
“We’re just wishing the best for the people we were with, but it’s looking pretty bad.”
Chad Karr and fiancé Andrea Figart