As families get a glimpse of their charred homes in Lahaina, they are overwhelmed with the daunting task of starting over.
For some visiting their burned homes brought a sense of closure. For others it only brought more despair.
“Our cars are burned up. Our friends are dead , the dogs, the animals are dead everybody’s dead there’s dead people in the water,” said David of Lahaina.
As authorities continue their painstaking door to door search for bodies, survivors say they can hear cell phones ringing in the pockets of those who did not survive.
Shaylen Arnise and her six children ages 2 to 18 are all OK.
They left Lahaina shortly before the fire tore through the town and are now living with relatives on the other side of Maui.
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But when Arnise returned to her home it looked like a war zone. She found a scorched bike and the bodies of her children’s pet bunnies and guinea pig.
She said the one item she wanted to find most. Her late son’s urn was gone.
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“His urn with his ashes used to be next to my bed, and I really feel like I need him. I went back looking for that, and of course, not successful,” she said.
Seeing her scorched home reigniting so many emotions.
“You feel like you’re in a bad dream and you're kind of waiting to wake up from it," she said. "Being there, in the moment, you feel all of the emotion. Pure grief, I'll be honest with you, all I feel is grief, I feel death,” said Arnise.
But in the rubble, there was an unexpected discovery.
“I found our engagement rings,” said Arnise.
She said her family feels lost, her kids miss their home and friends. And will have to attend new schools. Supplies are low and it's hard to find necessities including diapers.
“Everywhere I go in the community that we're all displace in, there are families that are not sheltered, and are struggling to get food and help,” said Arnise.
Because Arnise has a large family they are divided, staying with different relatives. Arnise said the hardest part is staying strong for her kids as she navigates the uncertain waters of starting over.
“We are displaced, and we are just lost,” she said.
