On that fateful early morning of August 8th, at around 4 a.m., I awoke as usual to speak to my programmers in India and Europe. About an hour into our team meeting, the power went out. It came back for a short time around 5 a.m. and then went out again. After waiting for over two more hours, I decided to drive into Lahaina to see what was happening. The entire city was without power, though repairs seemed underway near the Shell station at the entrance to the city across from the Safeway. I found a coffee shop with a generator, waited in a long line, got a coffee, and took a long walk downtown enjoying the ocean. Some shops were opening despite having no power.
Around 1 p.m., I decided to head back home to wait for the power to return. By 4 p.m., I ventured out again to check the situation. As I approached Lahaina, traffic had come to a standstill. Thick black smoke billowed from downtown, and on my left along the highway into Lahaina, dozens of wooden power lines had broken like twigs and laid across the highway. The police did all they could to manage the traffic. I parked in a park along the water, joining a small crowd. We gasped in shock as we watched the city burn, explosions and black smoke rising high into the sky as it drifted out to sea. I stayed there until dark and would ultimately, like thousands of tourists, be trapped in Lahaina for ten more days as the city was blocked off in all directions, waiting for the fire to run its course. Food and water became scarce. Some folks slept in their cars and camped on the street. Workers could not get to their homes outside Lahaina and tourists could not catch flights.