MAUI, HAWAII: With towns and neighborhoods burning to the ground and at least 80 people reported dead by August 11, the Maui wildfire is the largest natural disaster in the state of Hawaii.
Nevertheless, the first responders and the authorities have managed to save several thousands from the horrific Maui wildfires, evacuating them from the western part of Maui Island to safety.
A California father-of-five Vixay Phonxaylinkham is one of those fortunate survivors who shared his chilling tale of how he survived before rescuers were able to evacuate him and his family to safety.
Who is Vixay Phonxaylinkham?
Vixay Phonxaylinkham is a resident of Fresno, California, who visited Lahaina with six family members — his wife and their five children.
Phonxaylinkham has worked in the ER for 15 years and it was this experience that helped him survive, according to his interview with The Guardian.
Phonxaylinkham shared his experience of fleeing to the ocean to save himself and his family from the blazing inferno in Lahaina.
He shared, “We tried to make our way back, but we couldn’t. We got stuck. We tried to come back. We ended up in Front Street, my family and I, and it was just black smoke coming above us. And traffic was stuck.”
Maui wildfire survivor's account - Vixay Phonxaylinkham
Saying that they had to “think fast” and “get out” of the place, they left their vehicle behind and said, “Myself and my wife and our five kids, we all got in the ocean.”
He further described their ordeal while floating in the ocean amidst 60mph winds for three hours until they were finally rescued.
He told the outlet, “'We were out there floating — this is so surreal — everything is burning around us, explosions, cars blowing up, embers flying, we couldn't breathe.”
“After three hours we clung on to the sea wall as best as we could until we found a little cove area where we were for about an hour with two of the locals who were with us,” continued the father-of-five.
“There was still fire all around us, embers were flying everywhere. I was trying to cover them and myself as best I could,” said Phonxaylinkham about his struggle to save his family.
Finally, at 9.30 pm, the family saw hope after the fire calmed down somewhat. "We walked through the town, the little quarter they made. And everything was just burned down. Everything was destroyed. And yeah, we were at the shelter for that night.”
He continued that, “The ocean almost swept my kids away a few times,” before adding triumphantly, “But we stuck together, we held on, and we're here; we're alive.”
He also said the children took care of each other too. “My older ones helped with the younger ones. And we tried to stick all together, the waves just trying to take us out to the ocean. We had to come back.”
How many missing in Maui wildfires?
Initially, almost 3500 names were added to a spreadsheet that helped in the tracking down of missing individuals by the worried relatives, as per Daily Mail. While almost 2000 people contacted their relatives and were marked “found,” 1500 are still missing, as of August 11 night.
