Survivors of the Hawaii fires mourn loss of beloved pets and family homes

Bryce Baraoidan could feel the heat coming from the wildfires as he and his family rushed to flee their home of 30 years.

On Tuesday, a series of fires broke out across the Hawaiian island of Maui, ravaging Mr Baraoidan’s hometown of Lahaina and burning down his childhood home.

The family left nearly all of their possessions behind, thinking their house would be still standing when they returned.

“When we found out … my mother burst into tears,” he told the BBC. “Not just the whole street, but the whole neighbourhood is gone.”

“The thing I am saddest about leaving behind was my five pet chameleons,” the 26-year-old added. “I was very attached to them and I regret not taking them with us when we left.”

Mr Baraoidan is one of thousands of people who have had to evacuate since the fires first broke out. At least 36 people have died, while nearly 300 buildings have been damaged or destroyed, many in the historic Maui town and popular tourist destination of Lahaina.

Some had to jump into the waters to evade the fire, while many like Mr Baraoidan lost pets and homes.

Kiko and Steff Kirkman told US media they were vacationing in California when the fires broke out in Lahaina. Their children tried to get back into the town but could not make it. Their house burned down and they lost their cat and two dogs.

“We just hope and pray the smoke inhalation got them and they just went to sleep, they didn’t suffer,” Steff Baku-Kirkman told television station KTVU. “But I know people who have lost more. We have two cars, two suitcases and our lives.”

Steve Kemper, a photographer, lost a gallery that he managed on Front Street in Lahaina, his sister, Susanne Kemper, told the BBC.

Because only one road leads in and of the town, it took him three hours to escape and drive east to the Maui town of Haiku, where his son is living.

“It was a close call,” she said. “He was absolutely exhausted when he got to my nephew’s. He was shattered.”

Ms Kemper, who has spent time in Maui and other Hawaiian islands, explained that many of the buildings in the old town of Lahaina are made of wood, a legacy from when the town served as a major whaling port. This likely facilitated the spread of the fire in the town, she said.

“It just went up like a torch,” she said. “They were like match sticks on the ground.”

She and others have struggled to get in touch with friends and family living in the area, as the blaze has cut power to thousands on the island.

One woman who spoke to the BBC said she could not get in contact with her parents who were staying at a hotel in Lahaina for their honeymoon. She registered their names with the Red Cross, but hadn’t heard from them in 24 hours.

Others in Maui have begun taking in family and friends fleeing the blaze.

Ryland Granville Doran is hosting five people in his home six miles (10km) from Lahaina. His friends lost everything in the fires, he said.

“We have lost our jobs and our harbour has burnt down,” he told the BBC.

The 26-year-old Mr Baraoidan and his parents have been staying with family on the other side of Maui since they evacuated their home. All they managed to take were some important documents, a bag of clothes and their two dogs.

“We are all in shock,” he said. But, he added, “my dad told me that everything in the house is replaceable and we are lucky to have each other”.

With additional reporting from Gabriela Pomeroy.