LAHAINA, Hawaii — The future for a pre-med student bound for UC Davis was changed radically in just a few days. Due to wildfires in his hometown of Lahaina, it's hard to think about the future when everything he and his family had was burned away.
"I'm trying to be hopeful because I've been really wanting to go to college. I mean, it's a big milestone for me, and so I really wanted to be able to go but with this situation happening, I just don't really know if I can leave," said Patrick Doan.
Doan is an incoming freshman for the university. The Lahaina native visited the campus during a trip to Northern California last year and fell in love with the culture in the area.
Eyeing a major in biology, Doan was scheduling out his first year of classes at the university just three days ago. Two days ago, he was on the beach with his friends. However by the afternoon, he and his family were among the thousands fleeing Lahaina to try and stay ahead of the wildfire that would eventually wipe out their neighborhood.
"My entire community just basically (burned) to the ground," he said.
"It was in a matter of between, I'd say like 10-15 minutes, was from me just relaxing to me out the door with all of my stuff. And I didn't really have time at all to even plan out what I wanted to bring," Doan said, describing the rush to evacuate his home on Front Street.
He and his family evacuated to the other side of the island and spent the night in the parking lot of a Target.
He eventually got wind of a helicopter video that showed the aftermath of the fire in Lahaina.
"We were looking at all of our places that we stayed at, at our supermarket. (It) was burned to the ground. We looked at all of our favorite restaurants; it was all gone. And then we were trying to pinpoint our house, but it was just so hard to because of all the smoke and just... Lahaina just looked unrecognizable," Doan said.
Eventually, they synced the videos with images from Google Earth. It was then he and his family learned that their home and their business were gone.
He said he still has family stuck in parts of Lahaina, who've seen the devastation the fire left behind.
"'I've heard there's (53) confirmed deaths. But I've talked to a few of my community members who were walking Front Street, and they saw just bodies on the shore, which I mean, it's just really heartbreaking to hear," said Doan.
Doan and his family are staying in a friend's condo for now as they try to find a way forward.
"We're living day by day now. And yeah, all of our stuff is just gone. So we just have to, we're planning. We're seeing what we can do. We're trying to be optimistic, but we just don't know at this point," he said.
It's a day-by-day situation. The first-generation college hopeful is only 40 days from his orientation at UC Davis, but the fires have thrown everything into disarray, including his plans for higher education. For now, there's no certain answers or looking 40 days ahead as he deals with the present.
"I was waiting for my dorm assignment. It was just, everything was looking good. But right now, I'm just... it's just out of the question for me. It's more... I had to deal with a lot of stuff financially," said Doan.
In the meantime, he wants people to spread the news about Lahaina and what the community needs. The Hawai'i Community Foundation started a Maui Strong Fund to support the people impacted by the wildfires, which can be found HERE. Donations can also be made to the Maui Fire and Disaster Relief fund at Maui United Way. More information on donations and ways to help can be found HERE.
"f you could please donate to these causes now that would be really appreciated. Because I really want to see my community back to how it used to be," said Doan.
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