![]() “It was just a relief everybody was OK,” she said. She said a vet is scheduled to check the horses and believes the ranch will “recover fine.” You could feel the heat and breathing was hard in the smoke.”īraun-Miller and about a dozen friends, family and riders she tutors helped clean the barn area up and build temporary stables for the horses Saturday. ![]() “It was dark, and all you could see was the bright light of the fire. “It was scary,” Braun-Miller said Saturday morning. She said she had two minutes to free the horses before flames reached the property, which were thankfully in one barn structure due to Hurricane Lane preparations. Puunoa Estates resident Marla Braun-Miller also had her home spared along with her 22 horses. We lost a whole lot of stuff up there, but we still got the house and nobody got hurt.” “The reality is I couldn’t give up,” Applegate said. He said he fought off flames for three hours with a garden hose while trying to dodge large flying embers. When I opened the door to let the cat out, I got hit in the face with a blast of heat like I’ve never felt before.”īob Applegate said the couple’s home was completely surrounded by fire at one point, and he pointed to several torched trees just a couple feet from their master bedroom. “It sounded like explosions,” she said of the fire. The couple’s hanai daughter, Malia Poese, was living in the building that also stored all her belongings, her car, a classic car, a motorcycle and hundreds of other mementos and family photos. JoAnne Applegate, who lives on Lau Awa Place, with her husband, Bob, watched their 4,000-square-foot office space and housing unit burst into flames. Many homeowners managed to keep their homes early Friday morning, but they suffered damage and destruction to other parts of their properties. “By the grace of God they had all their belongings out and moved on to the next phase of their life,” friend Chris Speicher said near the home. Friends in the neighborhood said the couple moved a month ago to Southern California, and they were trying to sell the house. Other friends visiting the house said the couple was “traumatized,” but declined to comment.Īnother home belonging to Gerry and Thelma Farren was left in ashes on Hokiokio Place. He said the house was about 2,500 square feet with a three-car garage and a 600-foot ohana unit. “I don’t know where they are, but they got to be devastated,” Curtis Coon said.Ĭoon said he built the house for the couple 10 years ago, and three months ago did work on an entertainment center. They were shocked to see the house destroyed. Two cars could be seen melted outside the home with the entire structure collapsed and scorched by fire.Ĭurtis and Stacey Coon stopped by the house Saturday afternoon and said they were friends of Bergson and his wife, Gail, but had not talked to them yet. ![]() Other homes destroyed in the fire included one owned by Pacific Media Group President and Chief Executive Officer Chuck Bergson at the top of Wili Okai Way. ![]() “We are thankful and grateful that people have been helping us. “There’s a lot of feelings I don’t know how to express,” she said. Naki said she has not talked to many family members, and that “everyone is all over the place.” She said she does not know what they are going to do, but hope they can rebuild their home and go back to the valley. “The community is the one taking these people in, and the government is not doing one thing to help.” “It’s just astounding what happened,” Reichert said. Na Aikane O Maui Cultural Center also is accepting donations from the public for victims of the fire. A boat is melted outside a destroyed structure that housed one person on Lau Awa Place in West Maui.
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