The Journal. - ‘Everything Is Gone’ — One Resident on the Maui Wildfires

Episode Date: August 16, 2023

The wildfires that swept through Maui are America's deadliest in over a century, with at least 106 people killed. We speak to Javier Barberi, a local businessman who lost a house, restaurant and shaved ice shop in the fires.  Further Reading: - Maui Wildfire Death Toll Climbs to 99 as Lahaina Residents Brace for More Victims  - Why Are the Maui Wildfires So Devastating?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Javier Barberi woke up on Tuesday, August 8th, things weren't exactly normal. 6.30, check my phone, general manager Mike, he's got a group text out to the whole team, hey, power's out. Okay. I mean, it happens a decent amount of time, and I'd say probably like eight times a year, our power will go out. Javier is a restaurant owner on the Hawaiian island of Maui. And at first, he wasn't too worried. But a few hours later, he heard from his manager again. Mike's like, bro, the winds are going nuts. They blew the roof off the wharf, which is right in front of the banyan tree in Lahaina, like the epicenter.

The roof just got blown off of the wharf cinema center. I'm like, holy crap, Mike. The winds were bad enough, but Javier didn't know that those winds were also spreading wildfires, fires that would quickly become the deadliest in America in over a century. They devastated parts of the island and killed at least 106 people. And that number is expected to rise. About 1,300 people are still missing. Did you ever think a wildfire was something you would have had to face? Never. I always see those California fires and it's just like you live your life and you think like,

that thing will never happen to me. I would never be involved in something like that. I never anticipated anything like that before. It's horrible. It's absolutely horrible. And it should never have happened. absolutely horrible and it should never have happened. Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power. I'm Jessica Mendoza. It's Wednesday, August 16th. Coming up on the show, how one restaurant owner is navigating the fallout from the wildfires on Maui. When it comes to smart water, alkaline 9.5 plus pH with antioxidant, there's nothing to overthink.

So while you may be performing mental gymnastics over whether the post-work gym crowd is worth it, if you'll be able to find a spot for your yoga mat, or if that spin instructor will make you late for dinner again, don't overthink how you hydrate. Life's full of choices. Smart Water Alkaline is a simple one. Javier Barberi moved to Maui 17 years ago. He fell for the island immediately. Oh my God. The most beautiful place on earth. When you walk off the plane into the Kahului Airport, it's like no AC. It's like you're already earth. When you walk off the plane into the Kahului Airport, it's like no AC.

It's like you're already in the air of Maui, the beautiful air of Maui. You breathe it in. And you're on the beautiful stretch of beaches, Uka Mahomet, Oluwalu. The trees are over you. The surf breaks. If the waves are breaking, you're just stoked. You feel amazing. You're home. It's just, you're so happy to be home.

But when I spoke to him, it had been nearly a week since wildfires destroyed parts of the island. A lot of the places Javier loved are now gone. Javier co-owns four restaurants and a shaved ice shop on Maui. He lives on the north side of the island, but three of his restaurants are in the center of the town of Lahaina, which is on the west side. It's a historic site that's popular with tourists and home to 13,000 people. The day the fires broke out, Javier tried to make his way there. And they're not letting anybody in. So I'm like, okay, well, go back. So I go back to my house. I got my phone, it's like explosions. Like, oh my God, notification, notification, notification.

What's going on? Javier didn't know the full picture at the time. But by that point, fires had broken out in three areas on the island. It's still not clear what caused the fires. But a recent drought had left the island. It's still not clear what caused the fires, but a recent drought had left the island dry, and Hurricane Dora had brought winds of up to 60 miles an hour, which made things worse. One of the fires was in the foothills near Lahaina, and it quickly spread to the town. Javier and his best friend Juan called another friend who's a firefighter.

He let them listen to his radio on speakerphone. So me and Juan are sitting in the back of my truck listening to a firefighter. He let them listen to his radio on speakerphone. So me and Juan are sitting in the back of my truck listening to a firefighter radio. And we're starting to hear Lahaina Front Street Apartments is on fire. The Wharf is on fire. The Banyan Tree is on fire. Like, Lahaina Luna is on fire.

Wahikuli is on fire. And we're just sitting there like, what? fire. Wahikuli is on fire. And we're just sitting there like, what? It was clear that Lahaina was being hit hard. Javier was worried about his friends and employees and his three restaurants in the middle of a town that was on fire. He wanted to go to Lahaina himself. Like, how are we getting over there? How are we getting over there? It's like, who's alive? Where are people? And so next day we're like trying to figure out like where their cell phone towers are down and zero communication, no comms. Like I haven't been able to talk to like my family, like my friends, nobody, like what is going on? And so then we finally decide, okay, let's just go. Let's just go. Let's see if we can get in. We fill up the truck with guns, dirt bikes, flashlights, shovels.

Like, we don't know what to expect. We have no idea what is allowed, what is not allowed. They managed to make it to Lahaina before sunset. Found Dave's house, my best friend, my business partner. We own this house together, but he lives in it. Found it. Just dust. Gone. That's Wahikuli neighborhood.

Decimated. I mean, you couldn't even see anything. The only reason we knew it was there was because of the mailbox. As the fire spread, people tried to escape. Some got stuck in traffic, trying to get away. Others got so desperate, they jumped into the sea to avoid the flames.

Within hours, a lot of the town had burned down. The majority of the buildings that were destroyed were people's homes. And most of the businesses on the main commercial streets were wiped out. Javier went to check on his restaurants. Mala and Dakine are standing. They're there. I'm blown away because everything around it is completely burnt. It's just like shocking that those restaurants are still there. But Javier wanted to check on one more place. His restaurant called Down the Hatch in the center of Lahaina.

I had hope, right? Like I had hope. I was like, oh, Down the Hatch was so low. Maybe everything burned above, but it's still there like I have hope I couldn't even find it I couldn't even find it I couldn't even get my bearings as to where I was because everything is flat everything is gone so then I turn around and I'm looking and I could see water like I could still see some water I was was shocked. I was like, oh, my God, there's water. This is it. This is the wharf. This is the restaurant.

Like, it was just baffling. How did you feel? Well, it's kind of like that feeling when your dog dies, you know? It's like, you'll never get it back, like that feeling. Like, you'll never get that thing back again. It's gone forever, and it sucks. Javier was one of thousands who were trying to figure out what to do next. How he starts to pick up the pieces?

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place to settle in? Enjoy your room upgrade. Wherever you go, we'll go together. That's the powerful backing of American Express. Visit amex.ca slash yamx. Benefits vary by card. Terms apply. Where are you right now? I'm inside of my surfboard shed. It's been my home for the last seven days, I think. Javier says he's sleeping in the shed behind his cottage because he's given his place over to friends and some of his employees. How many other people are staying there with you? Right now, it's a family of four, their dog, the mother-in-law, the brother-in-law,

my bartender, my sous chef, my general manager. Oh my gosh. So I'm pretty lucky that I have a roof and I have water and I have a bathroom and a refrigerator. Not everybody is as lucky right now. Javier lives in an area that wasn't hit by the fires. When I talked to him,

he'd just come from visiting some of his other employees. They were staying at the War Memorial Complex, one of Maui's largest shelters. We all meet there at noon every day come from visiting some of his other employees. They were staying at the War Memorial Complex, one of Maui's largest shelters. We all meet there at noon every day, and I give everyone updates and information, positivity. I bring cash, put cash in everybody's hands, paychecks. Our pay cycle fell right on the, we pay everybody on the 7th. So if you didn't pick up your check on the 7th, you thought you were going to pick it up on the 8th, your check is burned. So there's a lot of paycheck discrepancies out there that I'm handling right now. And thank God I have my team to support me and get me what I need to bring to everybody.

How are your employees doing? They're doing good. I'm so blown away by how awesome they are. Like, the ones that are becoming leaders. Like, we send messages, like, on the WhatsApp group. There's, like, over 200 people. And sometimes I forget to translate the message in Spanish. We send messages like on the WhatsApp group. There's like over 200 people. And sometimes I forget to translate the message in Spanish.

And some of them will just, boom, they'll translate it in Spanish so everybody can read it. I think it's a really big deal for people. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it is. So the staff is, you know, doing well, but not doing well too, because they're sleeping on cots next to other people and sharing a bathroom with 100 other people and taking a shower with 100 other people, but having a smile on their face. And then I have staff that's going home.

I gave two early paychecks today to two girls that are flying back home. They're going back to the mainland. They have nothing here. And it breaks my heart because like, I want everyone to stay so that we can get back to, we can do it all over again. But I know that for some people, there's nothing for them. They can't get a job. They can't find housing. They got nothing. So they got to go. And that sucks. But Javier isn't going anywhere. He's pivoted from running his businesses to helping his community and doing relief work full time.

As soon as I get off this interview with you folks, I'll be dropping off two more paychecks and then I'll be driving to a house to start digging holes for posts because we're going to be building for one of my business partners who's here living with me. We're going to build him a little tiny house in this backyard for him and his family. And then I got to talk to my insurance agent and answer all questions from my staff. And then tomorrow, 6 a.m., start all over again. The wildfires have destroyed over 2,000 acres and caused billions of dollars in damage. Javier says that going between the areas that have been burned and those that haven't feels surreal.

It's like living in two worlds. It's like you live in this one world that's completely normal. Like when I get off the phone with you and I get in my car and I pull onto the highway, it's like a normal life. But the second you get into that zone, like Kapalua to Oluwalu, which is the west side that has been affected, it's like you entered a video game and you chose the really scary level and you're in there and that's where you are. video game and you chose the really scary level. And you're in there. And that's where you are.

And you don't know what's going to happen, you know? The logistics of the relief effort have been a huge challenge. Getting into Lahaina, for example. A few days ago, officials told the public that to access the town, they would need a special placard. Javier was one of hundreds of people who showed up to get one. But officials were so overwhelmed that within the hour, they suspended the program. It's like, Jesus Christ, guys.

Like, get it together. Get it together. It's so bad. The organization is so bad. I'm just baffled. And I'm not talking about like firefighters or policemen because they're f***ing awesome. They're doing amazing. Every single one of them should be commended for what they're doing. It's whoever is directing this whole initiative. I have no idea who's in charge, but whoever is, is just doing a poor job. State, local, and federal officials have been criticized over their response to the wildfires,

from the island's siren warning system that didn't go off to the lack of aid and poor communication. In a press briefing, one FEMA official said that the fires were, quote, amazingly devastating and the conditions are extraordinarily difficult to work through. At the end of our interview, Javier held up his phone and said he wanted to show me something. He tapped through his photos. Lahaina is known for sunsets. You know, every bar in Lahaina has a drink called the Lahaina Sunset or something like that. And it just has spectacular, spectacular sunsets in Lahaina. And as I was leaving yesterday, the sun was about to set

and I stopped on the side of the road, right up on the bypass where you get in and out of Lahaina. And see if you can see the picture, but that was the sun starting to set. Yeah. And the only thing you can really see is Lahaina Shores now. That hotel somehow miraculously survived,

but everything around it is just black and charred. I posted it on the Instagram, and I just wanted people to remember that sunset because a lot of people not being able to see that sunset. It's really difficult to get in that spot. And I just want to remind everybody, like, we're still going to have a beautiful town, you know?

Like, we're going to have a beautiful town and we got to be positive about it and we got to rebuild it. I hope to be able to visit sometime when everything's good and your restaurants are up and running again. Yes, please come and spend a lot of money on Mai Tais. When we are ready for that, we want everyone to come here and spend money and dump it all out on the floor.

Because that's what everybody needs over here. It sounds bad, but it's the reality. That's what it is. That's all for today, Wednesday, August 16th. The Journal is a co-production of Gimlet and The Wall Street Journal. Additional reporting in this episode by Alicia Caldwell. Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow.