TOLEDO, Ohio — Bob and Tina Marshall live in Lahaina on Maui in the Hawaiian Islands.
“There’s a nickname for Maui," Tina said. "'Ka ʻoi aʻe' which is ‘the best’. Because in our opinion, it’s the best island.”
The couple came from their home to Toledo over a week ago for a family reunion. Since they left the island, the wildfires in Hawaii began spreading, devastating the historic town and claiming over 100 lives.
“It was really mixed emotions because we didn’t know for days if our cabinet shop, we have a condo that our daughters live in, our home, if they were destroyed with everybody else's," Tina said. "But it was a blessing to be away from that because if you look at it, it looks like the whole place is detonated.”
Disaster officials say more than 100 people were killed in the fires, and more than a thousand are still missing.
The couple eventually found out their children, home and business were okay.
“I feel extremely lucky and blessed that, so far, I have not been able to get inside, but I feel pretty confident that the only thing I’m going to have is some smoke," Bob said. "I can live with the smoke, compared to my friends who’ve lost everything.”
The Marshalls said the support has been overwhelming. They believe the island will return to normal, citing community strength.
“I believe Lahaina is going to pop up real quick," Bob said. "It’s going to come back faster than we think.”
The Marshalls are hoping to get home next week, they said.
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