Lahaina firefighter Jonathan "Jonny" Varona lost his home and family business to the wildfires on Aug. 8. He was taking care of his children and had to focus on getting them out of harm's way.
His wife, Aina Kohler, who is also a firefighter, was on duty in Lahaina. They own the LahAina Surf Shack.
"I had the kids at home that day. So definitely traumatic, it's traumatic on all fronts, as an employee, as somebody who is there to protect the city — that's traumatic that we weren't able to," Varona said. "It's also traumatic in the future, there's so much to be done, and so much uncertainty as well."
Varona said his family is grateful for the use of a recreational vehicle now in Olowalu. The RV was donated through the efforts of fellow firefighters on the continent, the California Fire Foundation and the nonprofit EmergencyRV.
EmergencyRV and its founder, Woody Faircloth of Denver, also helped first responders after the 2018 fire in Paradise, California.
"We know we always have that there as an option, whether it's while we're rebuilding, have it on our property, if we can put it somewhere else, you know, there's a lot of different options and it's just a nice safety net to know that it's always there," Varona said.
Varona said he felt the camaraderie from fire departments near and far.
"They were here, boots on the ground helping, as well as organizing these things behind the scenes like shipping us a few of these RVs," Varona said. "You can feel that love and that genuine care for us."
Keahi Ho is another one of the 17 Maui County firefighters who lost their homes and businesses. He is the owner of GungHo Sailing.
He echoed the opportunity to take care of his family with the use of an RV during this stressful time.
"People that I know that are still in the hotels that still don't have that stability, I can tell just by talking to them, just by looking at them, how ungrounded they are and how stressed they are," Ho said.
"I know for myself how detrimental that would be to every part of my health to not have just a home base to start working towards building a new life. Living in uncertainty and without autonomy is one of the hardest things for humans, I think."
Two more donated RVs are en route from San Diego. They should be in Hawaiʻi later this month.
"I think things are going to start turning brighter here sooner than later — and that's encouraging," Ho added.
This story aired on The Conversation on Feb. 8, 2024. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1. Sophia McCullough adapted this story for the web.
