Maui wildfires: Houston families stranded for days recount their experience

Houstonians return from Maui fires

The death toll continues to rise on the Hawaiian Island of Maui after a wildfire tore through the area earlier this week. Tourists are now returning home after escaping the flames. FOX 26's Shelby Rose has the story of some Houstonians who made it back.

HOUSTON - The death toll continues to rise on the Hawaiian island of Maui after a wildfire tore through the area earlier this week.

Tourists are now returning home after escaping the flames.

What was supposed to be a getaway for Robert Gonzalez's family turned into pure devastation. "It just broke your heart," he said. "You knew that a lot of people had died."

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"I can’t believe that this happened," said Kayla Johnson, who flew back to Houston early Saturday morning.

She and her husband Chris were there when the flames ignited. "We actually saw [where] it originated," said Chris Johnson. "It looked just like a normal brush fire like we see on the side of the road here in Houston on the side of the freeway."

Resources, recovery efforts in Maui wildfires

The Maui wildfires are the state's deadliest natural disaster in decades and President Biden has declared a major disaster for Hawaii, freeing up more federal resources for the rescue and recovery efforts. FOX's Gina Silva reports from Hawaii.

Only an hour later, after they returned to their hotel two miles away, it was a vastly different story.

"The fire literally exploded. The smoke cloud just quadrupled inside, and it was just massive," Chris Johnson recalled.

The fire burning through the night and the total destruction it left behind was a scene they can only describe as apocalyptic. "It was so sad and crazy to see all the burnt-down houses," said Kayla Johnson.

For nearly three days these families were stranded with no electricity or cell service.

But even in the sadness, Gonzalez recalled a moment of hope, explaining he saw, "two women running up and screaming and holding each other because each one thought that the other had perished in the fire. They met up and just hugged and cried, and you couldn’t help but join in, you know?"

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The kindness showed through even from the hotel staff.

"They were working through it, you know," said Kayla Johnson. "They were there taking care of us making sure we had food and water when they didn’t even know if their house was still there."

Gonzalez added, "People were being incredibly nice with each other. It was amazing to see the humanity people displayed, but it was still tough. There was lots of sadness."