Family of four died in their car as they tried to flee the Lahiana firestorm – as robbed worshipers gather for Sunday prayers after the local Baptist church was razed to the ground
Relatives and friends are mourning the loss of a family of four who died in their car as they desperately tried to flee the raging flames that engulfed the small coastal town of Lahaina last week.
The family of four was identified as Faaso and Malui Fonua Tone, their adult daughter Salote Takafua and her son Tony Takafua.
Their bodies were found in a burnt-out car near their home on Thursday.
By Sunday, the death toll from the fires had risen to 93, as officials continue to tally up the damage caused by the savage blaze.
Officials have said only about 3 percent of Lahaina was searched as locals filled a church to pray for the first time since the fires devastated the city.
Faaso and Malui Fonua Tone were found dead in their car on Thursday as they tried to escape the devastating blaze that devastated much of Lahaina.
Also killed were Faaso and Malui’s adult daughter Salote Takafua and her son Tony
The deceased’s remaining family wrote that the ‘magnitude’ of their grief is ‘indescribable’ after the tragedy
Few deaths have been identified, but the family has provided details of the four dead found in a burnt-out car. In a statement, the devastated remaining relatives said: “On behalf of our family, we say aloha to our beloved parents, Faaso and Malui Fonua Tone, as well as our dear sister Salote Takafua and her son Tony Takafua.”
“The magnitude of our grief is indescribable and their memories will remain forever etched in our hearts.”
The decedent was a long time Lahaina resident who lived just below the Lahainaluna School.
On Sunday morning, members of the Lahaina community gathered in mourning at the Maui Coffee Attic in Wailuku to mourn and pray for the first time since the wildfires devastated their town.
Pastor Arza Brown conducted the service. His usual home, the Grace Baptist Church, burned down in the wildfire. Brown held a well-attended service in the makeshift sacred setting as a community gathered to pray for the dead and their uncertain futures.
The rows of the packed local coffee house could be seen young parents, old couples and anguished survivors of the terror, who wanted to address the crowd about what they saw and how to move forward.
Little children clung to their mothers and hung on their fathers’ necks as the service continued, while many adults no doubt wondered what the next steps will look like for their families.
Survivors gathered for a Sunday church service at the Maui Coffee Attic in Wailuku, Maui. The Grace Baptist Church burned down in the wildfire
A man holding a young child prayed with the crowd Sunday morning as aid continued to pour in from surrounding communities
Pastor Arza Brown preaches Sunday morning, the weekend after his church burned down
Heather Fricke and her daughter Alana, one, attend a church service with survivors from Lahaina
A couple and their young children pray with their grieving community on Sunday morning
Hawaii Governor Josh Green said on Sunday that work is being stepped up to move displaced Lahaina residents into temporary housing.
“Some of the first people will move into hotels today, and large numbers tomorrow and the days after,” he said, adding that there are now 500 rooms that the government pays for.
Rental housing will also be used as temporary accommodation for temporarily homeless people.
The governor explained in a nine-minute update video posted this weekend, “Airbnb is going to offer us hundreds of typically short-term rentals over longer term so we can put people in one place for months.”
Dave McCarthy describes his ordeal as a Lahaina survivor and churchgoers attend a Sunday church service of Pastor Arza Brown on August 13, 2023
Survivors embrace as they mourn their community during an impromptu Sunday church service
Pastor Brown’s church, Grace Baptist Church, burned down in the wildfire that swept through the small coastal town last week
Lahaina survivors and churchgoers attend a Sunday church service by Pastor Arza Brown at Maui Coffee Attic in Wailuku, Maui
On Saturday, Green toured the devastation on Lahaina’s historic Front Street.
He said, “It will certainly be the worst natural disaster Hawaii has ever faced.
“We can only wait and support those who are alive. Our focus now is to reunite people when we can and provide them with housing and health care, and then to rebuild.”
At least 2,200 buildings were damaged or destroyed in West Maui, Green said, 86 percent of which were residential.
Island-wide, he added, damage is estimated at nearly $6 billion. Green said it will take an “incredible amount of time” to recover.
Speak against CNNHawaii Senator Mazie Hirono spoke about what she saw on Maui after the fires.
The Democrat said, “The scenes of devastation will stay with me. We are in a period of mourning and loss as we search for more people who are still missing.”
People walk on Sugar Beach in Maui on Sunday as the death toll rises to 93 in Lahaina
Six active fires raged in Maui and the Big Island, destroying the city of Lahaina
At least two other fires have burned on Maui with no reported fatalities so far: in the Kihei area of southern Maui and in the mountainous, inland communities known as Upcountry.
A fourth broke out Friday night in Kaanapali, a coastal community north of Lahaina, but crews were able to put it out, authorities said.
Peg Alm slept in her truck Wednesday night after she was forced from her home in Kuhei when another fire broke out.
“I didn’t know about Lahaina until the next day because we had to evacuate,” she told DailyMail.com.
After seeing those heartbreaking photos of the devastation on the local news, Alm volunteered to help with the relief effort after answering a social media call.
“I was tired of waking up and crying all morning,” she says before wiping away more tears as she recounts her memories of the historic seaside town.
“This is like the soul of the island has been torn apart,” says the Michigan resident, who has lived on Maui for 15 years.