Maui residents had just minutes to flee from wildfires. Now they’re desperately searching for pets left behind
When wildfires swept through Lahaina without warning last Tuesday, residents were forced to grab what they could and flee.
At least 96 residents have been killed, more than 2,000 buildings were destroyed, and an estimated 1,000 people remain unaccounted for.
Hundreds of families who escaped the inferno have begun the desperate task of searching for pets that were left behind in the chaos.
Facebook groups have been inundated with photos of cats, dogs, rabbits, horses and exotic birds, and many remain missing nearly one week on from the deadliest wildfire in the United States in more than a century.
“I am absolutely heartbroken,” one pet owner wrote on the Lost & Found Animals of Maui Fires group along with photos of her cats Lily Jupiter, Puma and Tiger.
“Please if there’s any chance they are alive and out there, I’m begging please help me find them… My heart hurts so much.”
“I’m missing my cats Gobi and Bear — couldn’t get them when I fled Lahaina,” another pet owner wrote. “My house is completely burned down. So worried.”
Thousands of Maui residents have responded by offering to help locate the missing pets or make financial contributions. Many have posted photographs of pets spotted roaming around the ashen remains of Lahaina.
Among the agony and grief, extraordinary survival stories are also emerging.
Sarah Woods Willhour’s dogs Rocket, a Pomeranian, and Roman, a labrador, were with a dog sitter in Lahaina when the wildfires erupted.
The dog sitter’s only hope of survival was to jump into the ocean, one of dozens of Lahaina residents forced to try to shelter in the choppy seas, according to the Maui Humane Foundation.
Ms Woods Willhour only knew that Roman and Ricket ran off down the main waterfront street of Lahaina in the direction of the fires, and asked residents to “check in holes in rocks and other places” where the dogs could have holed up.
Roman was found two days later by construction workers, and handed off to a good samaritan who took him to Maalaea Harbour.
Animal welfare workers then transported him to the Maui Humane Society where he was treated for burns to his paws, legs, back and body.
Roman was microchipped, and was reunited with Ms Woods Willhour over the weekend.
Franklin Trejos, 68, died while trying to save his friend’s beloved golden retriever Sam
On Friday, she shared that Rocket had also been found safe.
The Maui Humane Society said it had been flooded with thousands of emails, phone calls and requests for information from worried pet owners.
It expected to treat hundreds of pets for smoke inhalation and burn injuries, and has appealed for help.
Teams of volunteers and veterinarians from the non-profit have been touring burned out areas documenting every deceased pet that they find.
Roman ran off when his dog sitter jumped into the ocean to escape the flames.
A burnt out car lies in the driveway of charred apartment complex in the aftermath of a wildfire in Lahaina, western Maui, Hawaii on 12 August
