When Chris Buza finally got ahold of his parents, they told him they had lost everything, including his childhood home in Lahaina, Hawaii, where wildfires have reduced most of the city to ashes. People in the western region of the island of Maui have lost their homes, vehicles and, in some cases, entire families.
“It’s one of those [moments] where I don’t know what I can do because I’m so far away,” Buza said. “But I’m going to do something. Sitting down is not an option.”
The wildfires broke out Aug. 8. Officials say more than 100 people have died, but the number of people unaccounted for is in the thousands. More than 2,000 buildings have been damaged or destroyed. While the fires have been mostly contained, officials are still fighting flare-ups.
The cause of the wildfires is unknown, but drought and strong winds fueled the fires, which Gov. Josh Green has called the “largest natural disaster” in the state’s history.
As officials continue search and recovery efforts, worried relatives watching from San Antonio are fundraising for families that have lost everything.
The Hawaiian community in San Antonio and their supporters are joining forces to raise funds supporting the victims of the Maui wildfires. At Rodrigo Pinheiro Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, San Antonians who have family members in Hawaii contributed to a dinner fundraiser Friday benefiting four devasted families in Lahaina.
Businesses and restaurants across San Antonio are also fundraising for victims of the Maui wildfires, including Kain Na Filipino Cuisine and Sweet Grace bakery. H-E-B has donated $100,000 and sent 23 pallets of products to the Hawai’i Foodbank.
Meanwhile, the San Antonio Zoo, Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, the Witte Museum and the Will Smith Foundation are raising funds to send to Imua Family Services, a long-serving nonprofit on Maui, which is soliciting donations online for residents affected by the natural disaster.
Buza learned about the Maui wildfires while he was working in the kitchen at Best Quality Daughter. Immediately, he contacted his dad but got no answers.
“I was frustrated and panicking at the same time, just trying to get ahold of somebody in Hawaii to let me know what the situation was,” Buza said. “When you can’t contact your parent, you don’t know what the situation is, but you’re seeing all the videos coming in, the first thing you think of is ‘Something happened.’”
When Buza finally got a call from his dad, he learned his family lost everything in the fires.
A GoFundMe for Buza’s family had raised $14,063 as of Saturday. Chef Jennifer Doberton at Best Quality Daughter was quick to donate $500 to the prep chef at her restaurant at The Pearl.
“Direct aid is the best aid when it comes to disaster relief. I just wanted to figure out how we could directly help somebody that was impacted in our community,” Doberton said. “The only thing that I feel like that we could do from afar is raise money and send funds.”
For now, Buza’s family is staying with family in Kihei, 17 miles southeast of Lahaina. Hotels are full, and there are no short-term rentals. Because Buza’s father’s job was in the city, he’s unable to work.
“While they’re still trying to find and identify people who perished in the fire, they’re also waiting for aid to come along and start rebuilding homes,” Buza said. “Almost everyone is displaced right now, and they don’t have anywhere to go.”
He said some locals are camping on their homes’ ashes.
While he’s relieved that his family escaped the wildfires, Buza knows his family’s need and is worried about the long recovery. The family is living “day by day,” purchasing a change of clothes at Walmart, since losing everything they owned, including their family vehicle.
In a phone call Friday, Buza asked his father if he wanted to move into his home in San Antonio, but his father replied, “My heart is in Maui.”
