By Bob Kaster

Enough is enough! thought James, I gotta get out of here! James had lived in the Pacific Northwest for twenty-five years, and lamented that for the last ten of those years, come August, poor air quality and smoky conditions from wildfires had become the norm.

James owned a condo in a resort on Maui’s famous Kaanapali Beach. It had been in his family since the sixties. He called Joe at the front desk, who said, “Sorry, your unit’s booked, but I can get you into the Morgans’ unit on the fifth floor of the tower, if you want it.”

“Sounds good,” said James. “Reserve it for me, arriving tomorrow, August 7, and I’ll be there for a week. Thanks, Joe.”

His next call was to Nancy, who often accompanied him on his travels. They were both in their sixties, although he was a little older. James’s wife of thirty years had lost a bout with cancer five years before, and Nancy’s husband had traded her in for a younger model after a twenty-five-year marriage. “How ‘bout a spontaneous, unplanned trip to Maui?” he asked. “Humuhumunukunukuapua’a.”

“When?”

“I can pick you up tomorrow morning at 2:00 AM. We’ll catch a flight out of Medford at 5.”

“It’s a little short notice. I have to pack.”

“What’s to pack? A couple of bikinis, some shorts, tee shirts, and flip flops. You can probably get it all in your purse.”

Their Alaska Air flight arrived at Kahului Airport at 10:55 AM Hawaii time. They picked up a rental car, made a trip to Costco to stock up on provisions, and were at Kaanapali Beach by 2:30. Both were worn out by the flight and the three-hour time change, but happy. They quickly changed and headed for the beach, and napped on lounge chairs, waking up in time for sunset. It had been pleasant, but a little windier than usual.

After sunset, James said, “I really could use a burger, how does the Cool Cat Café sound to you? Best burgers on the island, better than Cheeseburger in Paradise.”

“Sounds delicious,” she said.

They drove into Lahaina, a five-minute drive, and parked in the Outlets parking lot. They walked along Front Street to the Cool Cat Café.  They didn’t know that within twenty-four hours, it would all be on fire. There would be nothing left but ash and rubble.

After dinner they walked across the street to the Banyon Tree, then strolled down Front Street, enjoying the street’s vibe. Lots of tee-shirt shops; but also, some art galleries with exceptionally high-quality art. James reminisced about a trip he and his wife had made to Maui years before. They and some friends walked into the Pioneer Inn bar, where a band was playing. Pointing to the lead guitar player, his wife said, “That’s my brother’s college friend Gary. I’m sure that’s who that is.”

“Naw, I don’t think so,” said James. “But I’ll go up and find out when they take a break.”

When the band took its break, James walked up to the stage, and Gary immediately said, “Hey James, great to see you.” Gary was a semi-hippie in those days. He explained that he and a group of college friends had built a sailboat in Seattle and sailed it to the islands. The rest of them sailed on to Tahiti, but Gary got off in Maui, where he had remained. He had played various joints in Lahaina, and gave James and Nancy the grand tour.

That included Fleetwood’s, where they hit the jackpot. To get into Fleetwood’s is like getting into a speakeasy. It’s upstairs on the roof, requiring either a stairway hike or an elevator ride. It is owned by Mick Fleetwood, of Fleetwood Mac, and often famous celebrities with local Maui residences show up if they are in town.

There was Willie Nelson! Holy shit!

But little did they know what was to come.

Walking back to the car, even with the buzz that had come with the alcohol, they couldn’t help notice the wind. Normally, the wind on Maui is a good thing. The trade winds, usually fifteen to twenty miles an hour, are a blessing. Without the trades, the temperature can be stifling hot with high humidity. But tonight, it was more than the trades. It was really blowing.

If you spend most of your time on the mainland’s West Coast, you wake up early when in Hawaii, at least at first. If you normally wake up at 7:00 AM at home, you will wake up at 4:00 AM on Maui. James and Nancy were both up at four, and noticed that the power was coming on and off, a phenomenon not that unusual on the island. They were still able to make coffee, and drank it on the lanai. The wind was howling. They closed the sliding doors behind them, because if they left the doors open, the wind would have whipped through the unit and blown the pictures off the walls.

Around 8:00 AM they walked to the Castaway Café, the little dive bar/restaurant on the resort property, hoping for some of its “world-famous” pineapple pancakes. But that wasn’t to be, as the power was now permanently out, and the restaurant could not serve anything.

James had planned to play tennis that morning at the Royal Lahaina Tennis Ranch next door, but that was now out of the question, so instead the couple walked south along the beach walk all the way to its end, about a four-mile round trip, passing in front of some of Kaanapali Beach’s high-end hotels such as the Sheraton at the Black Rock, the Alii, and the Hyatt Regency. They wandered through the Whaler’s Village mall, hoping to get espresso coffees at the Island Village Coffee Shop. But nothing was open. It was like walking through a ghost town. There was no power anywhere, no Hawaiian music, no lights or sound. The few people that were out and about walked around like Zombies. A horror movie. And everyone was fighting against the wind.

Back at the condo later that afternoon, concerned about how long they could expect the high winds to persist, and when power would be restored, they went to the front desk. That’s when they learned about Hurricane Dora, a Category 4 storm moving across the Pacific Ocean hundreds of miles to the south.

“I’m the only one here,” said Remi at the front desk. Remi was actually the resort manager, and the front desk wasn’t his usual job. “No one else can get here,” he said. “And the only information available to us is word of mouth. There is absolutely no communication. No internet. No cell service. No email. No electricity. Nothing. I believe that thirty of our people have lost their homes, but can’t confirm that. Also, Todd, one of our grounds people is missing, and it’s not likely he will be found alive.”

James and Nancy spent that night in a dark and quiet condominium unit. They sat out on the lanai until about 10:00 PM before going inside and trying to get some sleep. But sleep would not come because of what they witnessed on that lanai that night. Looking south, all they saw was smoke and fire.