Utah family among those evacuated by Hawaii wildfires

SALT LAKE CITY — As the wildfires in Hawaii rage on, thousands have been displaced. 

Among those evacuated is Utah resident Roger Eggett and his family. He tells KSL NewsRadio that he and his family were at a home they visit often on Maui when the order came in to evacuate.

“So, our home did not burn down,” he said. “Just knowing, seeing the power lines that were down and then to see the fire go through, it is going to take a substantial amount of time, and I mean months, maybe a year to even get power back to the homes.”

He says when they left their home the fire was about a half-mile away. Eggett also says that at one point the flames were about 15 to 20 feet high.

Eggett says the fire came faster than people could react.

“The fire just kept getting bigger,” he said. “And by Wednesday morning at 4 o’clock, police were going through our neighborhood, telling everyone to get out, the fire is coming.”

As of Friday afternoon, CNN reports that 67 people have died as a result of the Hawaii wildfires and many others are still missing. 

Mark Jones contributed to this story.

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