New Yorker who lost home in Maui fire recalls ‘surreal’ escape

A New Yorker whose family lost their home to the devastating Maui wildfires called their last-minute escape “surreal” – and said the area’s continued power outage has stalled communication and recovery efforts as they struggle to get their lives back.

“It was surreal. It was terrifying,” Queens native Pam Reader told The Post of the moment she, her husband, their two daughters, and their cat raced away from the flames closing in on their home in the Shark Pit neighborhood of historic Lahaina on Tuesday evening.

Like many in the area, Pam said, her family did not hear a siren warning them to evacuate. Over 1,000 people remained missing Friday evening and 55 had been confirmed dead as a result of the fires.

“We weren’t really concerned [going to bed on Monday night], because Hurricane Dora was 800 miles south,” she explained.

The family spent most of Tuesday hunkered down as 80 to 100 mile-per-hour winds from the hurricane came over Maui. They also monitored the growing smoke until, suddenly, the flames were “a block away, two blocks away.”

“A friend who is a lifeguard comes over on a bike. He was covered in soot and he just said It’s time to go. You have to get out of the house,’” Reader recalled.

The family of four watched the sun set behind a wall of black smoke while terrifying winds whipped around them.

“It was pretty crazy, we were shaking in the car,” she said.

The Readers spent the night at a friend’s bed and breakfast south of Lahaina, where they met two honeymooning couples who were “really freaked out,” she added.

Early the next morning, Reader and her daughters drove to another friend’s home in Maalaea.

Reader’s husband, Keenan – who is originally from East Quogue on Long Island – met up with them a few hours later, and all four made it over to a friend’s parents’ in Wailuku on the other side of the island.

“In hindsight, I’m laughing at myself, because I could probably charge about 800 phones – I brought about that many chargers,” she said of taking stock of the items they were able to escape with.

“We brought our fire-safe envelope with all our important documents, which was good.”

Keenan’s sister, Carla, also lost her home in Shark Pit, and is currently staying elsewhere in Maui with her children, Reader said.

The neighborhood that Reader described as “very, very tight knit” is now reduced to ash and rubble, pictures from Keenan’s mother’s Facebook show, alongside around 80% of all buildings in Lahaina, according to local data.

The family learned their home was gone only after a friend with a connection to a local police officer was able to get them a photo of the devastation.

“That was the hardest part,” Reader said of the moment they knew for sure their house was gone.

As of Friday morning local time, Reader said, she was not aware of any of their neighbors being missing, though the West Maui power outage makes checking in with loved ones extremely almost impossible.

One friend, Reader said, just found her elderly parents dead in their car on the road out of Lahaina, having been presumably caught in the flames while trying to escape.

When asked about the viral videos of Lahaina residents jumping into the ocean to escape the flames, Reader added that she heard many of those forced into the sea were initially sheltering from the wind at a Foodland [grocery store], and only learned about the fire when it was almost too late.

“They didn’t know a fire was coming because they were inside and couldn’t see,” she lamented.

“What I’m really concerned about is… we need our power back to rebuild, we need cell service to communicate and start getting our lives back,” Reader told The Post.

“[The outage in West Maui] has been holding up a lot,” she continued, noting that the family’s house was without power when they woke up on Tuesday morning, hours before the fire came through.

Verizon Wireless previously told CNN that it was deploying portable mobile hotspots to restore cellular and internet services for thousands of people in Maui who lost signals after the fires destroyed the local cell towers.

Keenan Reader is the Director of College Counseling at Maui Preparatory Academy in Lahaina, which the family has been involved with since its inception, Reader noted.

The school ended up taking in 1,400 people after the fire encroached on the shelter at the local civic center, she said.

“Students showed up, the headmaster…people on the [school’s board] were up all night for two nights with these people, treating their burns, cooking for them,” she said.

“Just heartwarming to know that our immediate community was helping everyone that they could.

Both of Reader’s daughters, who are 14 and 12 years old, were set to start the new school year at Maui Prep on Thursday, though the first day of school has now been delayed until further notice.

“We know so many teachers and families who have lost everything,” Reader lamented, noting that two other schools in Lahaina were completely burned out.

“Maui Prep is hopeful to open, but there’s no power right now,” she explained.

The outpouring of support from their community and around the country, she said, has provided a bright spot during this otherwise devastating time.

“I am just blown away and so grateful,” she said of the GoFundMe that a New York based relative started for her, Keenan, and Carla’s families.

“People are donating so generously…I’ve never been in need like this, so it’s just unreal.”

As of Friday, the fundraiser had raised over $35,000, toppling its original $20,000.

Reader also spotted Oprah Winfrey chipping in and buying supplies at Costco for the War Memorial Gymnasium shelter on Thursday.

“It was packed,” she said of the makeshift space, where Winfrey was snapped handing out pillow and other items.

Just before her conversation with The Post, Reader and her husband chatted briefly with a builder to get started on reconstructing their home, though what the next few weeks will bring remains up in the air.

“[The community is] going to need as much services from the government that we can possibly get to help up,” she said.

Reader and her husband have strong roots in Maui: Though they met after both attending SUNY Geneseo, they told West Maui magazine in 2020, the couple moved to the island over 20 years ago, and have raised their family in the aloha spirit.

Going forward, Reader insisted, support from outside visitors will be essential.

“Maui really relies on Lahaina and tourism. We’re going to need tourists back, when the time is right,” she said.

“Maui is such a special place for so many, we’re going to need people to support us and not forget about us.”