'It Was Mass Panic:' Palm Desert Family Recounts Maui Fire Evacuation

PALM DESERT, CA — Palm Desert residents Joe Wallace and his wife were vacationing in Maui, just four miles away from the Lahaina fires, when they evacuated due to the blaze, where nearly 100 have died, and more are still missing.

It's been a week since the fires, but they are still processing what happened. He told KESQ's Samantha Lomibao his story of waking to no power and learning they could not get through Lahaina due to the blaze in a recent report.

The windswept wildfire incinerated centuries-old Lahaina last week and destroyed nearly every building in the town where 13,000 once lived. That fire has been 85% contained, according to the county—a second nearby blaze, the Upcountry Fire, has been 65% contained. The streets and shops frequented by the Wallace family for almost 40 summers have been reduced to rubble.

The Wallaces were inside their timeshare on Maui when the island caught fire. A power outage alerted the CEO of the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership that something was wrong.

Then, someone saw smoke.

"It was mass panic," he said of the fire just miles from them amid blowing winds. "People took off running to grab their stuff out of the rooms and got in the cars."

They learned the road out, through Lahaina, was closed due to the fire.

It wasn't until they learned the full extent of the damage that he and his wife decided to return to Palm Desert. They wanted to "get out of the way" and make room for the helpers, he said.

"I've probably spent two years of my life in the Lahaina area," he said. "And it is our second home."

Read the full report and see the interview on KESQ.

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