A Massachusetts family is asking for people’s help to find a woman who lives in Lahaina, which has been destroyed by a wildfire.
Linda Vaikeli hasn’t been heard of since before the wildfires started, according to Boston 25. Her family, located in Rochester, told the news outlet she has health issues and doesn’t get around very well.
“She needs some assistance. I just hope someone was able to get to her and help her to evacuate,” Beth McCleod told the news station.
Her son, Jason Musgrove, wrote on Facebook that as of Thursday around 9 p.m. there was no record of her with the Red Cross, hospitals or police.
“I’m gutted and overwhelmed with the unknown,” he wrote.
The wildfires on Maui have killed at least 55 people and wiped out a historic town. Gov. Josh Green warned that the death toll would likely rise as search and rescue operations continue.
Maui Fire Department Chief Brad Ventura said the fire moved so quickly from brush to neighborhoods that it was impossible to get messages to the emergency management agencies responsible for alerts.
“What we experienced was such a fast-moving fire through the … initial neighborhood that caught fire they were basically self-evacuating with fairly little notice,” Ventura said.
She lives in an apartment on Baker Street in Lahaina. She was home alone when the wildfires started, Dylan Kai, her grandchild, wrote on Facebook. He said his grandpa, Sione Vaikeli, had gone to a doctors appointment and was unable to get back into Lahaina.
“He is safe and trying to work his way back to town now,” he wrote.
The family has shared photos of Linda Vaikeli on Facebook.
The Associated Press contributed to this reporting.
