LAHAINA, Hawaii — Native Utahns who fled their home in Lahaina after devastating wildfires broke out in Maui has returned to the island four months after the disaster caused widespread damage in the historic area.
"I think we knew things are going be hard coming back and there definitely have been hard things, but we feel so grateful to be here," said Diondra Jordan.
In 2020, Jordan, her husband and then-four children moved to Lahaina.
"This is where we've decided we want to raise our kids and the place that we just all love so much," she said.
The Jordan's enjoyed Thanksgiving back in Hawaii in a much different scene than what they experienced over the summer. On Aug. 8, the Jordan's were left racing to leave the place so near and dear to their heart.
"Thankfully we got out, it was 7 minutes before our home did catch on fire and we were driving through like the dark cloud of smoke, which is a really scary feeling, especially with all of our little kids and being eight months pregnant," Jordan remembers.
The Jordan family spent the next three months back in Utah, while also welcoming their fifth child, Coco, to the family. They decided last month to return to Lahaina.
"We knew we needed to get back for that and just to rally with our community to all get through this hard time," said Jordan.
Over 2,200 were destroyed or damaged on the island, including 700 that are considered historic.
"We are right now still working on going through the zones for the hazardous debris removal, so Phase One, the human rescue and recovery is done, but not all of the zones have been cleared of hazardous material," explained Kimberly Flook, Dep. Executive Director of the Lahaina Restoration Foundation. "We've looked to other disasters, both fire and other natural disasters and the idea of normalcy is usually at least three years out, but actual normalcy can be anywhere from 5-to-10."
Flook said FEMA has been incredibly present, saying officials meet with her group once a week. She says they are working with other agencies and emergency management to make sure they are doing everything possible on the road to recovery.
That road ahead may seem long and bit rough. The Jordan's are currently renting a different home about 10 minutes north of the burn zone.
"You see there are places where there's green things growing again and there's power lines up; stores, some stores are open, so it definitely feels hopeful like we're moving in a good direction," Jordan said.
Hawaii Governor Josh Green extended the emergency proclamation on wildfires, with amendments to help support survivors with housing and recovery.
