A Southern California couple who owns a home in Lahaina lost their beloved house when it perished in the raging wildfires. Yet, they’re still finding ways to help others who were also impacted by the devastation.
Stacy and Scott Rusher hail from SoCal but spend a good amount of time in Hawaii, where they owned a home in Maui’s Lahaina neighborhood. All that’s left now of it is rubble and ash.
Stacy recalled the quick decision they made to leave their Hawaiian home when they first spotted smoke from a distance on Tuesday.
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
“I said, ‘This doesn’t look good,’ but I didn’t think about evacuating,” Stacy said. “I thought there was a fire in the distance, and it doesn’t look good. My husband calls me and said to start packing.”
The family of four quickly gathered their things, jumped in their car and drove off. They thought they would be able to return in a few hours and never expected the blaze to swell in size and kill more than 60 people.
“The whole town has disappeared. The town we’ve known since 1979,” Scott said.
As firefighters gain control of the burned area in western Maui, powerful images have surfaced of the aftermath. The Rushers were able to fly back to Southern California but say the hard work to rebuild is just getting started.
“We have been in contact with our friends and neighbors. It’s a strong community,” Scott said. “We wanted to reach out to them because they don’t have anything. They need backpacks, sandals, T-shirts.”
It was straight to work for the couple. They’re collecting donations and seeking a way to get the items to Maui. To expedite their efforts, they teamed up with to the Give the Dream Foundation.
Those who are interested in helping the Rushers donate supplies to Maui residents in need can drop off goods at 4435 W. 153rd St. in Lawndale.
