EXCLUSIVE: Lahaina resident Gabrielle Longhi shares how the beachfront family home became a luxury rental that burned to the ground along with her father’s famous restaurant that opened in 1976
Residents of fire-ravaged Maui have described returning home for the first time since the city of Lahaina engulfed in flames this week, revealing that the true scale of the disaster is far more devastating than previously thought.
Todd Hudson, a longtime resident of the town, was one of the first to witness the aftermath of the deadly wildfire on Friday after delivering much-needed supplies to the historic town that also houses his daughter, her husband and their two-year-old child. lived.
“It’s worse than you could ever imagine. It looks like a war zone. Everything is gone,” he told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview.
Hudson spoke of the heartbreaking scenes as locals returned home on Friday for the first time since wildfires that killed at least 55 people reduced large swathes of the historic city to a hell of burnt rubble.
Longtime resident Todd Hudson shared video footage of the devastation after returning to Lahaina for the first time since the blaze
Gabrielle Longhi’s $4,000-a-night family property in Lahaina was known as the Blue Sky Villa, which included a custom meditation tower that miraculously withstood the fire
The resident shared heartbreaking photos showing the only structure left of the luxury property after it was reduced to rubble
His daughter Alyssa Sullivan narrowly escaped death after fleeing in her car with her husband, Kevin Sullivan, and their two-year-old son Rome when flames engulfed their home within minutes of driving away.
Unfortunately, their sweet cat named Willow remains missing.
The fire is the deadliest wildfire in the US since 2018 and also stressed how ill-equipped the region was for a disaster of this magnitude.
Resident Gabrielle Longhi spoke out after losing her childhood home that burned to the ground into a luxury rental home
‘There was no warning. No sirens. No cell phone alerts. Nothing,” Hudson said, capturing extensive videos of the aftermath as he drove through the once thriving tourist town.
“People were left to fend for themselves. We had nowhere to go.’
“There was nothing to prevent what happened,” he added, revealing that the island of Maui has only 100 firefighters.
“There were no firefighters when it happened because they were fighting fires in other parts of the island, such as inland.”
Lahaina is home to many elderly people and unfortunately Hudson revealed that the residents of the Senior Citizen Home may have been inside when the facility burned down.
“There were dozens and dozens of people who had no choice but to jump into the water where they waited for up to eight hours for help. Many more died than survived,” he said.
“We already have a massive housing shortage on the island,” says Hudson, who hopes the devastation will shake up infrastructure and bland housing policies.
Gabrielle Longhi is both heartbroken and angry. She said city officials fell behind in their response to the worst disaster in the city’s history.
“It was like Hurricane Katrina with dozens of bodies in the water.”
Gabrielle’s father Bob Longhi opened his famous Longhi restaurant on Lahaina’s Front Street in 1976, but the business unfortunately did not survive the fires
Todd Hudson with his wife Kathy Janosi Hudson. Hudson was one of the first to deliver much-needed supplies to the historic town of Lahaina, where his daughter lived with her family in their fourth-generation home
A view of the charred remains after wildfires engulfed the historic town of Lahaina, Maui, on Aug. 9
Hudson, dozens of people had no choice but to jump into the water where they waited for up to eight hours for help
“I don’t feel the true devastation is being told. There is nothing. It’s like dust. The benches are gone.’
Gabrielle’s father Bob Longhi opened his famous Longli restaurant on Lahaina’s Front Street in 1976 and quickly became a well-known eatery on the island.
The popular spot burned down, along with their family home turned $4,000/night luxury beachfront rental.
“My dad had the first open house in Maui where all the doors were open and a 20-foot pool in the ocean. The ceiling in his bedroom could be rolled back so you could see the stars at night.’
“I get calls from so many former guests.”
“The meditation tower is miraculously still standing,” said Loghi whose home in Kula’s interior is still under threat from another fire that broke out earlier this week.
“I know every inch of that house. I never realized that the last time I was there would be the very last time.’
“I’m really angry that the whole city burned down. People said there was no one there to help. Lahaina is the heart of Maui.”
“With all the tourism this island brings, you have to wonder where all the money is going.
The natural disaster is on track to become the deadliest wildfire in recent US history
“The country is extremely dry and fires are happening, there should have been an action plan. Something has been put in place.
“There are so many taxes, but Maui has always been shortchanged in services, fire, police, medical.
“People have been complaining about this for years. There are no hospitals. You have to drive all the way to the other side. Now the hospital is full. I’m so glad my dad didn’t see all this.
“The governor finally called the National Guard. Maui needed help long before it came.
“There are neighborhoods around Lahaina that haven’t burned down, but the people who live there can’t leave or they can’t go back.
‘They have no power. No mobile reception. They’re running out of food and water.’
Meanwhile, several GoFundMe pages have been created, including the Sullivan family in the photo holding their baby boy.