Help Kirk & Laura after Maui Fire destroys home

Aloha. I am raising funds for my friends Laura and Kirk Boes who lost everything in the recent Maui wind and fire storms. Laura and I are tennis buddies at Royal Lahaina Tennis Ranch. She has always been a bright light, a positive person. Their lives have been turned upside down. It's my goal to raise as much $$ ASAP to meet Laura and Kirk's immediate needs. Please read their story below and give as your heart dictates.

Join me in helping Laura and Kirk to begin to rebuild and heal from this unexpected tragedy.

Mahalo nui loa.

LAURA & KIRK BOES- their story

We have rescued dogs in the Lahaina area for years. Our rescued fur babies meant the world to us and they blended in with Kirk’s extended family of dogs: Kaia, Oreo, Blue, Binx, Miah, & Kudos. The loss of 11 dogs is heartbreaking. Our inability to round them up into the truck serves as a stark reminder of how quickly the fire spread and how little time there was.

We had been hunkered down in the house with doors and windows closed due to high winds ripping through the neighborhood blowing shingles off our neighbor’s roof. It was way too dangerous to be out walking around with so much debris in the air. We first smelled smoke, which was white at this time around 3:30pm.

The neighbor came over and we talked about packing a bag and getting out because it was getting too smokey. 15 minutes later we were driving down our street to Lahainaluna. We were unable to save any of our family dogs or rescued fur babies ‍⬛️: Kimo, Buddy, Toki & Shorty, Doris & Claire. We just did not have enough time. All we could do was grab a few items, one dog (Bubba) and quickly get into the truck and flee. Radio instructions told listeners to shelter at the Lahaina Civic Center, so that’s where we headed.

Our escape was terrifying. Trees were ablaze, bending and blowing around in all directions. It appeared that 4 downed telephone poles blocked our access to the Civic Center from the highway. We were stuck in gridlocked traffic on Papalaua, with smoke as black as night and with burning embers falling all around. The tree on the right was on fire. So, the police directed us to Front Street.

We continued to Front Street but Kirk had other ideas. Since we were stuck in traffic gridlock He thought we’d be better off heading south instead of north to the Civic Center. So, he took off running down Front Street to check it out. (It was about 4:30pm.) Bubba and I followed slowly in the truck and met up with Kirk at 505 Front Street.

We reunited at 505 Front Street where we parked the truck and thought we could wait it out there. Within 10 minutes, Malu Ulu O Lele Park was completely engulfed in flames. We had to get in the slow-moving traffic again on Front Street making our way further south.

We passed people by the Shark Pit area that were sitting on their lanais talking story, and others were walking south on Front Street in family groups. None of us were aware to what extent Lahaina town was burning.

We hung out in the truck alongside the highway with what seemed like 1,000 other people in their vehicles, and some on foot. We watched a very strange Sunset through the black smoke at Puamana Nui, then by 8pm we were slowly moving to Launiupoko. By 9pm, we moved to the Olowalu surf spot. As the fire advanced south towards us, the police moved us further south along the highway. We had very little in the way of updates on what was going on in Lahaina. We found KPOA radio station, and all they could tell us was that wildfires were burning in Lahaina & Upcountry Kula. No other details.

The 3 of us slept in our truck overnight in Olowalu until 8am the next morning when the police asked us to continue moving south. They said the road into Lahaina was closed and to seek shelter on the other side of the island. We had no idea the town had burned to the ground. We went to Kirk’s brother’s house in Kihei relying on the images we saw on the news to keep us informed.

The road into Lahaina remained closed for days. We didn’t know for sure our house had burned until Friday 8/11 when they finally opened the road and a nice policeman let us in to look for my kitties. That’s when we saw our house was decimated.

MEET LAURA AND KIRK BOES

Laura has lived in Maui 40 years and teaches Marine Biology classes with Ocean Project Maui which takes people on private snorkeling adventures. She is also a caretaker for elderly residents of Kaanapali and Kapalua. She rescues kitties, birds, & a Pitbull named Bubba. She taught at MCC. Laura enjoys life on this beautiful island and has sailed with snorkeling excursions and numerous other activities.⛵️ ‍♀️

Kirk has lived in Lahaina for 50 years and graduated from Lahainaluna in 1976. He’s originally from Newport Beach California. He is an artist who enjoys working with the keiki (kids) in the community. He’s multi-talented and shines as an art educator, painter and entrepreneur. You can see an article

(or 2) about him and his work :

https://www.lahainanews.com/news/local-news/2023/07/28/lahaina-people-multi-talented-kirk-boes-shines-as-an-art-educator-painter-and-entrepreneur/

https://www.lahainanews.com/news/local-news/2023/07/14/lahaina-arts-guild-receives-maui-united-ways-top-honor/

“Out of the ashes, hope will arise! Collectively we may have lost everything we held so dear, but not our hope for a brighter tomorrow-Lahaina Strong!”