Rev. Jay Haynes, pastor of Kahului Baptist Church, said the recovery will take years.
“Our guys just need to keep going,” he said.
Rabbi Mendy Krasnjansky said the Chabad of Maui – which was under evacuation orders – was saved and is now sheltering those evacuated. As soon as the fire broke out, some devotees agreed to take the holy books of the temple to safer places.
“We don’t know why things happen, but we believe we have the strength to fight,” he said.
That was the case for Jack Wasserman who was desperate to find his uncle David Hawley. Now aged 70, his uncle uses a wheelchair after a stroke more than a year ago left him nearly immobile.
“We don’t know where he is, which is definitely scary,” said Wasserman, who lives in Southern California.
Even before the fire, he wasn’t always good at keeping in touch. Perhaps this was another one of those cases.
Phone calls to Wasserman, his siblings and cousins have also gone unanswered.
“I still have hope,” he said, “unless someone tells me otherwise.”
Then after sharing their pain, his family tried once again.
This time the answer came. His uncle was alive.