"I think we're all just numb": Sacramento family living on Maui escapes flames
SACRAMENTO - As the devastation on Maui continues, one family is trying to get back to California after escaping the flames.
Lori Lemmons moved with her daughter, Jules Herman, and Jules' boyfriend, Gino Martinez, from Sacramento to Maui three years ago. The three are now survivors of the Maui wildfires.
"I think we're all just numb," said Herman. "I don't think we have really had time to process everything."
The family was forced from their home on Front Street in Lahaina as the wind fanned the flames.
"The entire time we were just turning around and looking back at everything," said Herman.
Besides the wind howling, the family said they had no warning of the fire unfolding.
"It was by far the most terrifying thing I have ever gone through," said Lemmons.
The historic town of Lahaina burned to the ground in hours.
"The most scary part was we were not sure when we were going to be able to talk to our families again," said Herman.
With every unanswered call, loved ones like Cynthia Martinez in Yuba City grew more worried.
"Just waiting, the uncertainty, not knowing what is happening," said Martinez.
Martinez eventually got a call from her brother Gino once they reached safety, but the trio's home was wiped from the map.
"We just drove all the way up Napili, no cell service, we slept in a jeep for some days, no water, no food," said Lemmons.
"It was just a dream of mine to come and live my life out here," said Lemmons.
It was a dream turned disaster, but the family said it feels for those who called Maui home for generations.
"They are upset, they are scared, they are hungry, they are tired, they are dirty," said Lemmons.
The family is currently staying at an Airbnb in Kihei, but planning on moving back to Sacramento this week since they no longer have their cleaning business or home. The family has put together a GoFundMe so they can move back to California.
"All we can really do is just pray," said Martinez. "Pray not only for our family, but everyone out there."