Ticats coach recalls seeing Maui 'burnt to the ground' as he flew back to Ontario

When Hamilton Tiger-Cats assistant coach Jeff Reinebold was flying back to Ontario from Hawaii last Thursday, he saw a place he calls home destroyed from his plane window.

Reinebold has been living in Hawaii on and off since the late 90s as his wife is from there.

He was flying out after visiting their home in Pahoa, on Hawaii's Big Island, when he saw the devastation below.

"It was scary, to be real honest with you what you saw... it looked like the closest I can describe is what you saw in world history class, when you were studying Hiroshima and Nagasaki," he told CBC Hamilton this week.

"Everything was burnt to the ground. Cars were burnt... just shells of houses and buildings left. And Lahaina, which, as I said was a bustling little community, was just flattened."

Reinebold, who's been working with the Canadian Football League team since 2013, said he remembers calling his wife to relate what he had seen.

"We knew that there had been a tragedy, but we did not know the scope of it."

The wildfires that rapidly swept across the Hawaiian island of Maui last week led to thousands of evacuations, burnt-out homes and the deaths of at least 99 people.

The fires started Aug. 8 and took the island by surprise, ripping through the town of Lahaina, a historic former capital that dates back to the 1700s and has long been a favourite destination for tourists.

"It's just a reminder of how fragile we are as human beings. We think we can control everything. But nature has its way to even the score real fast," said Reinebold.

In addition to Hamilton, Jeff Reinebold, left, calls Pāhoa home. It's where his wife lives and works as a special education teacher. (Submitted by Jeff Reinebold)

Reinebold didn't drive through any wildfires himself but saw roads blocked as he headed to the airport on Thursday. He had hoped to take what he thought would be a scenic route, expecting a road full of greenery on the drive through the Kohala Coast. Instead, he was greeted by no-entry roads.

"My plan was to drive off the Kohala Coast because it's such a beautiful drive. But I couldn't, and when I got to Kona, you could look across to where Maui was. You just saw grey. It was just all so grey."

'Right now, it's utter chaos'

Reinebold said from what he knows, Hawaiians are resilient people. "There's kind of a mindset that, yes, it's dangerous. But yes, we'll rebuild if it takes our home or takes our city," he said.

Nicholas Winfrey of the Maui United Way told CBC's The Current on Tuesday that while residents are coming together to each help each other, "everyone needs support, everyone is shell-shocked.

"We're facing something that has never happened before... We're prepared for hurricanes. This is something that nobody could ever prepare for. Please, please don't forget," he said.

Eddie Garcia, a local farmer, also likened what the island looked like to Reinebold's description.

"Right now it's utter chaos. It looks like a nuclear bomb," he said.

He also told CBC's The Current on Tuesday that while no one is "more resilient" than locals, they need the resources to be able to support themselves.

"Now it's time to help us rebuild, and not the hotels, but local people's houses that are Lahaina. This is the heart of Lahaina— the people."

Volunteers sort out donations for those affected by a wildfire, at a parking lot in Lahaina, western Maui, Hawaii on August 12, 2023. (Yuki Iwamura/AFP/Getty Images)

The fires were the deadliest natural disaster in the state's history, surpassing that of a tsunami that killed 61 people on the Big Island of Hawaii in 1960, a year after Hawaii joined the United States.

The precise cause of the fires has not yet been determined, but the U.S. National Weather Service had issued warnings for the Hawaiian Islands for high winds and dry weather — conditions ripe for wildfires.

Experts say climate change not only increases the fire risk by driving up temperatures, but also makes stronger hurricanes more likely. In turn, those storms could fuel stronger wind events like the one behind the Maui fires.

Canadians in Maui

Global Affairs Canada said it was closely monitoring the wildfires and impact in Maui in a statement to CBC News.

"We offer our heartfelt condolences to those who have lost family and friends and wish those who were injured a quick recovery," the department said in a statement on Aug. 11.

There were no Canadians who have been killed or injured from the wildfires as of Aug. 11, it added.

Global Affairs Canada issued an advisory against non-essential travel to Maui due to the wildfires.

There are currently 473 Canadians in Hawaii, according to the Registration of Canadians Abroad (ROCA).

Reinebold hopes people send 'pule,' Hawaiian word for prayers, to those in Maui.

"Because they need help now. There are some people that not only have lost all their physical possessions in the world, there are some that have lost family, friends and loved ones," he said.