A Miami man who moved to Lahaina just two years ago escaped harrowing raging walls of fire when the deadly blaze that leveled most of the historic town began.
Diego Rivera, a graduate of Belen and Florida International University, shared his experience with NBC6, including the moment when he managed to escape the flames.
"I feel the fire. I have to get out of here," he said.
MAUI WILDFIRES
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When Diego woke up Tuesday in his new home in Lahaina, he saw fire flares going through his window and he knew he had to get out.
Within seconds Rivera saw the horror spread through the streets --- incinerated cars, buildings engulfed in flames, trees burning, power lines down.
"Let’s go! Go, go, go!" you can hear someone say in the video. "Damn it's hot."
The most jarring sight, Rivera said, was a person laying on the ground. With the walls of fire caving in, Rivera said he had no time to help.
"Somebody is down," he said. "Oh my God. Oh my God."
The brush fire was so quick, Rivera said the heat made it hard to breathe.
After a long journey, Rivera and the two other people in the car made it to safety.
Days after the start of these wildfires, the devastation is becoming clearer -- nearly 100 people are dead and thousands are still missing.
“I lost my uncle and his wife and his daughter," one man said.
Others are recalling the horrors they witnessed.
"We just kept huddling in different corners, getting away from flying debris, getting away from flames," said Misty Guantonio.
"The fact we weren't incinerated is a miracle," said Krista Lee-Garrido.
But while people are devastated, they are not alone.
People have been ending aid to help the victims of the wildfires.
Michael Capponi, CEO of the Global Empowerment Mission in Doral, has been at ground zero for days now.
"It’s my destiny," Capponi said. "It’s what I’m meant to do on this earth.”
And while help is on the way, survivors are holding on to hope.
“You just have to look to the Lord and you just trust in Him," said one survivor, Katalina. "He has a purpose for us."
