LAHAINA FIRE-HELP MY MOM'S HEROES LOC & THAO TRAN

Hi, my name is Glen Pascual and I am fundraising for Loc Dinh Tran and Thao Le Tran, also known collectively as "Mai". They lived with my 90 year old mother in Lahaina. They saved my mother's life in the Lahaina Fire event that destroyed the house they lived in. They have asked me to establish this GoFundMe to help them as they lost everything in the Fire.

ABOUT MAI

Mai have lived at my Mom's house in Lahaina for over ten years. They make a living driving taxis. Despite the language differences (my 90 year old Mom is Filipino with limited English and Mai are Vietnamese with limited English), they got along well. They helped her by taking out the rubbish to curb on rubbish pick-up days, keeping an eye on her to make sure she was okay, and checking in with either my brother Macario or myself if there were any concerns. Mai are very caring, compassionate and generous people.

Mai have lived in Hawaii for over 30 years. They left their native Vietnam in 1988 as boat refugees. Mai spent a few years in the Philippines (where Loc learned English) before coming to Hawaii in 1992. In 1997, Loc became an independent cab driver. In 2009, they moved to Maui. Thao worked at the Ritz Carlton while Loc drove taxis. Thao soon joined Loc as a taxi driver and recently, in 2019, they purchased two Honda Odysseys for their company. All that they have built together is gone.

Google Map photo of my Mom's house with one of Mai's vans in the driveway.

ESCAPE FROM THE FIRE

On August 8, 2023, a wild fire tore through the town of Lahaina. Power had been out all day due to high winds. Fortunately for our family, they were home when the Lahaina fire started in the mid-afternoon as the winds picked up. Our home in Paunau Terrace is about ¼ mile downwind of where the fire started. Within minutes, the fire was bearing down on my Mom’s neighborhood, devouring houses above them. When the danger of the fire became imminent, they did not hesitate to make sure Mom made it out with them - even if it meant sacrificing one of their taxi vans. My Mom, who is 90 years old, has limited mobility. She needs a 4-wheel walker to move around. Even after Mom made her usual fuss about having to make “shi shi” (urinate), they waited to let her use the bathroom. When she insisted several times to make sure the front door was locked, they went to check that the door was locked to her satisfaction. Even when she pleaded that she would wait for her son to come and get her, they never abandoned her. (Note: My brother Macario was coming to get her, but by the time he learned there was a fire, it was already about 4:30pm – he would have been too late. In addition, the roadblocks prevented him from getting into Lahaina town at all).

EVACUATE TO FRONT STREET

With the fire bearing down on them, they could have simply shrugged their shoulders, take both of their taxi vans and left. But they didn’t. They decided to sacrifice one of their vans (their livelihood) and all got into one van together. If they were separated, the one with Mom would not be able to help her to safety. Together, they stood a better chance. They loaded my Mom into the van and took off through the fire and smoke. Honoapiilani Highway was a gridlock. Downed power lines during the day rendered the only road in and out of Lahaina impassable. Loc, realizing that the fire was closing in on them from all over, made the critical decision to drive to Front Street to get them into the water. Loc parked right on the edge of the sidewalk, where Bubba Gump restaurant met the seawall.

FIVE HOURS OF HELL

Mai, with the help of another person, carried Mom from the van, up and over the seawall and down to a concrete drainage tunnel that ran underneath Front Street and out to the ocean. If they stayed on the sidewalk, they were dead. If Mom got into the ocean, she had no chance. So Loc got her to sit in a nook created by the drainage tunnel and the seawall. The protruding tunnel blocked her from the Bubba Gump structure which would eventually catch fire. The wall behind her protected her from the direct heat and smoke of the Lahaina Outlets burning across the street, and the exploding cars that were abandoned along Front Street (including Mai’s van). Loc covered her head with a wet towel from a homeless camp to protect her from the burning embers that were whipping towards the ocean in the high winds. She was still exposed to the ocean waves that buffeted her with debris, driftwood, rocks and even pieces of lumber with nails in them. Meanwhile, Thao went into the water and was out in the ocean with several other people. She is asthmatic and being in the water helped to prevent her from breathing in all the smoke and ash. Loc went up and down the length of the seawall, but always kept a watch out for Mom.

Photo: Front page of Maui News included Mai's taxi van.

Video: Loc Tran's video taken during the time of the Lahaina Fire.

Photo: The area of the seawall near a concrete drainage where Mai placed my Mom.

Photo: Looking down into the "nook" that Mai placed my Mom - within a few yards of the Bubba Gump building.

Photo: Thao Tran in the water with others clinging onto a floating carpet from a homeless camp.

Photo: Loc Tran hanging on along the rocky shoreline. He had the wherewithal to grab a snorkeling mask from our garage before heading out. Offered both smoke protection and protection from the waves and ocean.

Video: Loc Tran returned to the scene and explains where he kept my Mom during the Fire and shows his van.

RESCUE

For almost 5 hours, my Mom, Mai and many others endured hell on Earth until a firefighter suddenly appeared and yelled out to see if anyone was still alive. The firefighter got them out of the water and led them to safety. There were two groups that were evacuated. The first group was those with shoes or slippers. The second group was those without. My Mom was in the second group. Loc was injured himself (he hurt his leg) and Thao was weak and tired, but they made sure Mom got out. Despite my Mom’s lack of mobility, Mai stayed with her in the second group and made sure she was not left behind. The firefighter led them on foot through downed power lines on Papalaua Street as the fires raged all around them. They then went through the Lahaina Outlet parking lot onto Wainee Street where they again were surrounded by burning buildings on both side of the street. Finally, they were placed in an evacuation vehicle waiting on Kenui Street.

Photo: Evacuation route from the seawall to the evacuation vehicle around 9/930pm.

Quite a distance to travel on foot surrounded by fire and smoke.

They were evacuated to the Lahaina Civic Center shelter. On the way to the Civic, Mom complained about being cold ("where's my sweater") and Thao spent most of the ride with her arms around my Mom to keep her warm. At the Civic Center, my Mom was treated by EMT’s for her eye injuries, burns and scratches from the debris on the beach and the flying embers and ash they went through during the evacuation. My Mom was evacuated by ambulance to Maui Memorial Medical Center in Wailuku, where she was able to be reunited with her family members.

Photo: My Mom in the emergency room, Maui Memorial Medical Center.

Knowing that my Mom was in the hands of the EMT’s, Maui relocated to the Maui Prep shelter. Now they had limited cell service, so he made contact with us at around 10:00 p.m to inform us that our Mom was alive, but the phone cut off before we could get any additional information. It was the first time since 3:30pm that we as a family had confirmation that our Mom was alive. It was not until 3:00am that we learned our Mom was at the hospital in Wailuku.

AFTERMATH

A few days later, I learned that Mai were at the War Memorial shelter in Wailuku. My brother and I went there to thank them personally. There, we got the details of the events of August 8. We couldn’t believe the courage and selflessness that Mai had demonstrated in saving our Mom. They said they would've felt so bad if they left Mom behind. They wouldn't be able to face us. But more so, they considered Mom to be like their Mom, too.

Photo: Grateful Reunion: 4 of the 5 Pascual brothers thank Loc Tran and Thao Tran at the War Memorial Shelter. Noy (2nd from the right) was another evacuee from the seawall.

I hope this GoFundMe can help them. They escaped with just their ID's, driver’s licenses and a credit card. What little cash they had is gone. After spending several days in the shelter, they were housed at a hotel in Kaanapali. However, they have no transportation. Their brand new 2019 Honda Odyssey taxi vans - their livelihood – were destroyed in the fire. Insurance may take a long time to process their claims. They have no family here on Maui and few friends. Loc suffered an injury to his upper leg. Thao, who is asthmatic, hurt her back when she slipped and fell on the rocks by the seawall. She cannot sit for long periods of time and needs to stand to alleviate the pain and discomfort. As the days go by, they find themselves increasingly angry, irritable, and upset about what they have gone through and feel despair about their future. They have difficulty sleeping. It is their hope to move to Las Vegas where their son lives, to start their new lives. For now, they need funds to survive.

The GoFundMe proceeds will go entirely to Mai – Loc and Thao – to help them with their immediate needs, expenses, necessities, clothes, food, medicine, health care, cell phone bill, and transportation. The funds will also assist them in starting their new lives in Las Vegas. They are the heroes that saved my Mom from the Lahaina Fire. They went above and beyond what anyone would have been expected to do. Without their actions, our Mom would not be here today. On behalf of Loc and Thao, I humbly thank you in advance for any donation you can make, whether big or small. Mahalo!

Photos: Shots of Mai's van that was destroyed at my Mom's house.