'We gotta go. We’re tangled up' a Maui FF Said as his Engine was Overrun

Maui firefighters spent just about every minute of Tuesday, Aug. 8, battling blazes starting moments after the clock struck 12 a.m.

“Just after midnight, the upcountry fire started, and all of the resources from the upcountry area were dispatched in that direction. Additional resources were called back at just after 4 a.m. to assist with that fire,” Maui Chief Brad Ventura told KHON reporters. 

Then at dawn, a spark and flames broke out in Lahaina. All Maui resources for Lahaina were available and responded.

“The fire was contained. They put a bulldozer line around that fire, they mopped it up and they sat on that fire for about five hours while the weather was really moving through the town. At that point, power lines were falling down, all sorts of additional calls for service coming in. But all those resources remained on the west side of the island. They didn’t respond to the Olinda side.”

Embers were being fanned by 60-mile-an-hour winds and igniting everything. The original fire was flaring up again and spreading down the hill closer to houses. 

“As they were facing the fires of the homes that were burning, houses behind them started to burn. That’s how quickly the fire was spreading. So the firefighters were engaged heavily in fighting fire and trying to stop it."

Lahaina residents obeying firefighters imploring that they leave the area couldn't as their escape routes were blocked by poles, lines and utility vehicles. And, they weren't the only ones who found themselves trapped. 

A camera captured an engine totally surrounded by the roaring flames. 

“We’re pretty much overrun by fire down here. We’ve got multiple structures on fire, so we’re going to need multiple units, just try to take care of the cutoff point over here," a firefighter said over the radio from his engine. We gotta go. We’re tangled up, All units, all units we’ve gotta get out of the center of this fire.”

Debris and downed lines prevented a full-size engine from getting through.

A police vehicle was used to get firefighters to get firefighters out of harm's way.

A captain made sure all his firefighters got into that vehicle and no one was left behind. He is recovering from smoke inhalation

The chief explained another issue making the issue worse for everyone: “Water is our lifeline for fighting fire, and we had as-normal water supplies for a portion of the fire. We’re still gathering intel from the field as to at what point in the day the water wasn’t available to us.”

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