Maui Resident Shares Harrowing Wildfire Escape: 'We Had Minutes'

Maui resident Dustin Kaleiopu detailed his family's harrowing escape from the wildfires that engulfed the Hawaiian island earlier this week.

The wildfires started on Tuesday and spread across several islands, spurred by winds from Hurricane Dora. The fires hit Maui particularly hard, engulfing the historic town of Lahaina in flames on Wednesday. It is believed the fires were caused by a mix of hot and dry conditions. Thousands of people in Maui were forced to evacuate Wednesday morning, including some who jumped into the ocean to flee the flames.

On Thursday morning, Kaleiopu detailed his escape on the Today show.

By Tuesday morning, he and his family were aware of the wind and its effect on the fires. The wind had caused power outages for many and had grounded firefighting helicopters. By that afternoon, the smoke billowed much closer to Kaleiopu's home. Explosions boomed at nearby gas stations and businesses. The flames engulfed his neighbor's yard only an hour later.

"We had minutes to escape," Kaleiopu said. "An hour later, we would find out that our house had burned completely to the ground."

Kaleiopu escaped the inferno with his grandfather and met up with his father and brother at their meeting spot in the center of the island. In the time it took for the family to be reunited, Kaleiopu's father frantically searched for them, as communication had been lost. During that time, his father found their home burned to the ground.

Kaleiopu said he is still unable to get in touch with some of his friends. He lost the two homes he grew up in.

"Everyone I know is now homeless," he said. "In 36 hours, our town has been burnt to ash. There's nothing left."

Many people remain unaccounted for, and at least 36 people have died. The fires consumed family homes and incinerated historic sites, including Maui's oldest living tree growing in Lahaina. The 150-year-old banyan tree stood in the place of King Kamehameha's first palace, according to town officials. He was the conqueror and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii more than 200 years ago.

Lahaina is a historic seaside town on the west coast of Maui. It was once the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii and is still considered of great cultural importance to the island.

Satellite images revealed how the blazes eviscerated trees and destroyed homes in Lahaina. The U.S. Power Outage map shows that power outages still affect more than 10,000 of Maui's 72,000 residents.

Communication remains lost for many. Maui resident Sara Shedd told Newsweek that it took hours for her to hear from her husband on Wednesday. He was working at a hotel in Lahaina when the fires grew out of control.

She finally heard from him hours later when he appeared at her workplace that afternoon. He had escaped the inferno by driving two and a half hours through a back road. The flames were less than a mile from the hotel before he escaped.

"It's absolutely devastating," Shedd said about the fires. "My heart is broken. There are no words."