Hawaii

‘Nervous and scared': Vacationing San Jose family flees from fire-ravaged Maui

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A San Jose family who is back home after fleeing the wildfires in Maui is trying to process what they witnessed.

The Yniguez family was enjoying their Hawaiian vacation when the fires broke out and triggered evacuation orders.

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"It got real when I walked out and you can see the sky was orange over the trees and you can see it kind of flickering," Raul Yniguez said.

The family grabbed their things and took off in their rental car for Maui High School, a designated evacuation site. They spent the night sleeping their car.

"The girls were nervous – I have two daughters – they were very nervous and scared," Raul said. "I didn’t sleep much. I don't know if I'll say I'm keeping watch, but I just wasn’t comfortable just sleeping there."

At daybreak, the family broke for the airport, hoping they still had a flight back to San Jose.

With power out across much of the island and limited internet access, they had no way of telling how bad the situation was. Then friends started sending them pictures.

"It’s a pretty amazing place and to think that it's going to be completely different the next time we go, that is super devastating," Raul said.

The family ultimately touched down in San Jose late Wednesday night, still in disbelief about what had just happened.

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"Sleeping in your car for a day is really nothing compared to what these people are going to go through now," Raul said.

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