'It is horrendous': Former Raleigh resident who lives in Hawaii speaks on wildfires

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — A woman who spent 30 years living in Raleigh is seeing the devastation of the Maui fires up close and personal.

“Anyone who has seen some of the photographs knows it looks like a scene from ‘The Last of Us,” said Lisa Schell. “It is horrendous. I was in Raleigh when Fran hit and this is a lot like that except on an even more horrific scale.”

She lives in Waikapu, about ten minutes from the airport in Maui where tourists jammed into Thursday to try and leave. Some had to sleep there for days as dangerous wildfires continue to wreak havoc all over.

“For local native Hawaiians, that is ancestral land and there are important cultural landmarks in the area that have been destroyed,” said Schell.

More than 50 people are dead and much of the historic town of Lahaina has been decimated but Lisa doesn’t want people to forget about people around the island too.

“The folks who are in the upcountry, the folks who have lost homes and are displaced–they are suffering just as much,” she said.

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The fires have thrown a wrench into the plans of thousands of people on vacation including the Browns from Garner.

“It is very bittersweet, it is very hard to be in the moment,” said Erol Brown.

He and his wife and two kids are there for their anniversary and a birthday celebration but they can’t help feeling guilty with staff members trying to work and deal with the loss of family members.

“There’s real loss and tragedy right now,” Erol said. “We’re seeing it. If anybody seeing this today can say a prayer for these families, I believe it will go a long way.”