He drove over fire. He drove through fire. Zach Petrie drove anyway he could to escape the fire leveling Lahaina.
“It was just insane,” Petrie said via Zoom from a friend’s house in Maui. “The houses had already caught fire. The middle of the intersection caught fire — just absolute chaos.”
Maui Fires: How to Help
On Aug. 8, the 24-year-old was trying to get home to save anything he could, but it was too late. Petrie was finally able to get back three days later. His Lahaina home was gone.
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“It’s just devastating to see,” Petrie said.
Petrie moved to Lahaina two years ago from La Mesa. He remembered the Witch Fire in 2007. Family members who evacuated from Ramona stayed at his house. Petrie said that Witch Fire was nothing compared with Lahaina.
“A thousand times worse,” he sighed. “Imagine taking a flamethrower and cranking it to 80 miles an hour blowing a thousand, 1,500 degrees.”
Petrie’s parents in La Mesa set up an online fundraiser to help him get back on his feet. Petrie felt guilty.
“It’s really hard because I’ve always been on the helping side,” Petrie said. “I’d rather help and assist in any way that I could than just sit down, feel sorry and not be able to do anything.”
Petrie promised to stay in Hawaii and help rebuild.
“My goal is to stay," Petrie said. "This is my home. This is my community.”
Petrie is now delivering supplies to other evacuees.
“This has shown what this island is made of and what our community is, and what the spirit of aloha really means,” Petrie said. “This place is home and I need to be here to help.”
