MAUI – A Bay Area family separated during the pandemonium of the Maui wildfires was finally reunited after days of not knowing if they would see each other again.
For over two days, Sean Pasin and his wife Xenia could only wonder if their 15-month-old baby Luke and 7-year-old son Matthew were safe with no way to contact them. Cellular service was shut down in much of the island shortly after wildfires ripped through parts of Maui.
“I believe in miracles, but they don’t happen often,” Pasin said.
They left their young children with their grandfather at a hotel on the west side of the island on Tuesday afternoon while they ran errands. They were running errands in Lahaina when the inferno ignited and quickly spread, propelled by hurricane-force winds.
Road closures made it difficult for families to reunite.
Late Wednesday, Xenia found a way to board a special bus that took trapped tourists back to the hotel in Ka’anapali to reunite the relieved mother with her children.
“I’m so excited that they’re with me now. And yes, beyond happy. It’s just incredible,” she said.
State and federal officials say thousands have been displaced after fleeing the flames. Many travelers spend the night at the airport and in emergency shelters.
The Pasin family is grateful to have taken a flight back home to the Bay Area, knowing that the devastation has left so many reeling amid the many lives and homes lost.
“We know from what we’ve seen that the people here need a lot of help and resources. So just encourage people to keep giving. Keep encouraging. Keep praying,” Pasin said.
The greatest concern is the many missing people – estimated at more than 1,000 people by some officials – who remain missing as search and rescue operations continue.
Kenny Choi
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