I'm sure you've all seen the news about the fires here that were driven by Hurricane Dora. In case it doesn't make sense to you that a hurricane -- that didn't even hit the islands -- would cause fires, here's what I think I understand about that...
Hurricanes affect the atmosphere for hundreds of miles around the center. First, they suck all the moisture out of the air and then they kick up winds in every direction. So Dora sucked all of the moisture out of the local area (drying out all the vegetation), and then something caused a tiny spark, and then there were 60+mph winds (gusts to 80mph) all across Maui, and that’s what created this perfect storm.
Every day, they find more bodies of people still in their homes, trapped in cars as they tried to flee, and even floating in the water (where some ran as a last resort)... it's truly truly horrible.
If you want to help, I encourage you to donate to the Maui Humane Society (https://www.mauihumanesociety.org/donate-olx/). FEMA and the Red Cross and many many charities will take care of the humans, but I fear that the homeless and injured pets might be overlooked.
On Friday, Mochi and I sent bags of dog chow to those pets who were able to escape with their families and aren't at the Humane Society shelter. One of the awesome things about refugee shelters here (usually hurricane related) is that they know people need to bring their pets, so they make accommodations for them. It warms my heart.
There are collection boxes all over Kona, and helicopters and boats make daily trips to Maui with donated supplies. Mochi and I are headed to Costco again today to get more supplies to send.
If you can donate, please do. If you can only pray for the poor people of Maui, that's good enough. They need all the aloha they can get.
Dana and Mochi
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