Minnesota man survives Hawaii wildfire: 'There was no time to think'

Cathy Wurzer: The wildfires that are not quite contained on the Hawaiian island of Maui are now the deadliest in modern US history. The death toll has been climbing every day. At least 96 people have died. But with more than 1,000 still missing, that number is expected to rise as search teams and cadaver dogs are slowly combing through the rubble. New details have come to light about the fire.

With wind gusts from hurricane Dora that was nearby reported as high as 81 miles an hour, the fire traveled a mile every minute. Many people had very little time to grab what they could and run for their lives. Some people even jumping into the ocean to escape the flames. One Minnesota native we talked to helped rescue people in the Lahaina Harbor and pulled them to safety on a fishing charter boat.

Lahaina itself was once a quaint, historic little town. But now the city, once home to 13,000 people, has been reduced to rubble. More than 2,700 buildings and homes are destroyed. City officials say it's going to take years to rebuild and billions of dollars to do so. Brandon Pinney from New Hope, Minnesota moved to Lahaina 3 and 1/2 years ago. He's one of the many with a story of survival, and he's on the line right now.

Brandon, thank you for joining us. I'm glad you're safe. Where are you right now?

SUBJECT: Aloha, Cathy. Thank you for having me. I'm in the town of Haiku on the other side of the island at a friend's home.

Cathy Wurzer: Take us back if you would please to Wednesday. There was just so much going on. Thousands were without power because of these strong winds earlier in the day that I mentioned. And then many folks said that flames just kind of came out of nowhere. Where were you when you started to realize there was big trouble afoot?

Brandon Pinney: Yeah, that's exactly right. It all happened very quickly. I was in my home all day. The wind started about 5:30 AM. And that's when we lost power. And it really didn't seem like the storm going into the day was going to be any sort of big deal. To give you an idea, I spoke to my landlord about 30 minutes prior to evacuating. They called me from their unit on the property. And we were discussing the new roommate that was supposed to move in in two days. They told me, yeah, go ahead and call him. Tell him he can move in on Thursday. So I was in my in my home all day reading books and that's sort of when the chaos began.

Cathy Wurzer: When did you realize there was a big problem?

Brandon Pinney: I thought I smelled smoke about 2:45. And I walked outside. And I didn't see any smoke. So I went back in. I was reading my book. And about 15 or 20 minutes later I realized I definitely smelled smoke. And I looked out my window and saw it billowing down the alley next to my unit. And that was when I ran outside to look at the neighborhood up the hill. And there was smoke billowing over all of the houses. And I was very much aware of how strong the wind had been blasting down that hill all day. So I immediately ran back in, my fire alarm started going off. And I just threw a few things in a bag, grabbed a suitcase, and ran to my truck, and started making my escape from the Lahaina Luna neighborhood.

Cathy Wurzer: What'd you grab?

Brandon Pinney: I threw my passport and a couple of checkbooks into my backpack. And I grabbed a small suitcase that I thought I had some important documents in but they're actually in my other suitcase. But there was just no time to think. Just my gut instinct was telling me that I probably had less than a minute.

Cathy Wurzer: Wow. So grab and go. Did you go to an emergency shelter at all? Did you know where to go?

Brandon Pinney: I did not know where to go. You know, we had no notification warnings on our phone. There was no siren that was sounded. I eventually made my way to a couple of small mall parking lots to sort of contact some people. I contacted my mother. I contacted a close friend. And I sort of tried to assess the situation. And my friend texted me back and told me that they were opening up a shelter at the Lahaina Civic Center.

So after I grabbed a few groceries from Safeway, I still at this point didn't think that it was going to be what it was. I thought perhaps part of the Lahaina Luna neighborhood would burn down. But I didn't think there was any way that they'd let the fire reach Historic Lahaina Town let alone the other two major neighborhoods. So then I slowly made my way over to the civic center and was there for a few hours before they evacuated that area.

Cathy Wurzer: And you've had a chance to go back, is that right, into your neighborhood?

Brandon Pinney: I have not yet. So, I went to a beach parking lot after the shelter was evacuated and spent 36 hours in my truck. And I was waiting for word of when the road through Lahaina would open up. And we heard late the next evening that it had reopened. So I decided to leave at first light the next morning. And I was able to take the highway up to where the bypass is near the Safeway Mall.

And I was able to hop on the bypass. And I stopped at the overlook that overlooks the Lahaina Luna neighborhood to look at the rubble of the neighborhood like many other people were doing. And then I got out of there because I knew in the coming days that it would be a dire situation north of Lahaina. And a lot of unfortunate people got stranded up there. I was fortunate enough to have a full tank of gas at the time. And I just feel very grateful that I was able to get out of that area and get to a safe space at a friend's.

Cathy Wurzer: Pictures I bet don't even tell the picture, right? The full picture of what happened.

Brandon Pinney: Yeah. The biggest thing that paints the picture for me is the horrifying stories that I continue to hear. Each one is horrifying as the next. And I just feel so blessed that I was able to sneak out of that neighborhood. If I had tried to go-- try to escape the Lahaina Luna route, I don't think I'd be alive today. I think there were two fires going on at each ends of that road. And yeah, the pictures really don't do it justice. And there's going to be a lot of trauma in the community for a long time. And it's going to take a lot of time to rebuild and heal.

Cathy Wurzer: I mentioned the Minnesotan I had talked to who helped fish people on the ocean, really, because she works on a fishing charter boat. And they were asked by the Coast Guard to help save people. And she just can't talk about it. It's just what she saw was just too horrifying. You mentioned the recovery. And I'm wondering here, you've been there for a little while. I know native, indigenous Hawaiians are worried that developers will come in and buy up all the land and make it even more expensive to live there. What's your sense of the next steps here?

Brandon Pinney: I have heard concerns about that. And prior to this incident, for as long as I've lived here, there has been a housing shortage, and especially an affordable housing shortage. There really aren't, weren't enough places to house all of the people who needed to work in the restaurants and the hotels. And it will be really interesting to see what happens.

I've already spoken to friends who have decided to move off the island. I've been fortunate enough to have a very nice family in Kihei open up their home to me for the next few months at no charge to me. And it just things like that just go to show how the community is trying to come together and share their aloha spirit. And everyone just wants to try to pitch in as much as they can to try to help that slow and arduous rebuilding process. And I hope over the years as they do rebuild Lahaina that it's built in a smart way.

Cathy Wurzer: So you plan on staying on Maui? You could come back to Minnesota.

Brandon Pinney: Yeah, I went back and forth. In my heart Maui is definitely home for me. I've had enough of the snow and cold. I considered going to stay with family briefly in Arizona to try to get my bearings. But I do have a truck here. I do have a job here. And I do want to try to weather the storm and help build a better Maui and a better Lahaina when the time is appropriate.

Cathy Wurzer: Well, Brandon, I appreciate your time. I know it's hard to talk about this. I'm glad you're doing OK. And I wish you all the best in the future. Thank you so much.

Brandon Pinney: Thank you, Cathy. Aloha.

Cathy Wurzer: Aloha to you, too. Brandon Pinney is a Minnesota native who now lives on the island of Maui, lost his home during the wildfires. More by the way at mprnews.org.