Linked by tragedy, California fire survivors aid Maui victims

The fires in Lahaina were the first thing Pam Harris saw when she switched on the news last Wednesday morning. The images were devastating, all the more since Hawaii was a cherished place for Harris and her husband, Dave, who visited yearly.

But after 30 minutes of fire-ravaged scenes, Harris had to switch off the news. The images of the flame-engulfed Lahaina brought her back to the sight of fire and the sound of exploding propane tanks as the deadly Camp Fire approached her home in Paradise, California, in the Sierra Nevada foothills, in 2018.

The scope of Maui’s devastation was grimly familiar to the 74-year-old Harris, who now lives in New York. She knew, based on her own experience, what kind of advice and support Hawaii residents might need as they navigate the long road to recovery.

Two days after being overwhelmed by horrific scenes from a burning island paradise, Harris found a Facebook message board for wildfire disaster relief on Maui.

“I knew it that morning, (that I needed to help),” Harris said. “I just need a day or two to find out how to be most effective to involve myself in the first place.”

Tapping her years navigating bureaucracy as a disability analyst, she volunteered to help survivors file paperwork. She understood how time-consuming and energy-depleting the process can be for survivors applying for relief, benefits, insurance, identification and financial records.

“The paperwork, for one thing, takes a certain amount of time,” Harris said. “By the time you end up changing your address, canceling credit cards, doing everything you need to do to resume life, then you have the ability to move on somewhat.”

She says “somewhat” because she and Dave are still in the midst of “moving on.” Even now, she said, a glowing orange sunset can trigger feelings of fear or sadness.

“I have learned to live with it, and I cry every day,” Harris said. “The process just takes so long. We’re going on five years, and we’re still healing.”

The hard-won lesson she wants to pass to Maui residents: “Develop as much patience as you possibly can.”

Sandi Knapp Gerhardt also understands how a wildfire can upend your life – and how grueling the road to healing and recovery can be.

Gerhardt, 55, like Harris, was drawn to the “Maui Fire, Flood and Disaster relief group” on Facebook, where she offered the kind of advice she wishes she had when her family’s home was destroyed: Don’t wait to find a new place to live, even if you plan to rebuild; build up patience for the long process of insurance reimbursement; understand that your perspective and life will never be the same; don’t neglect your mental or spiritual health.

Rest and gratitude can help survivors avoid getting mired in the “deep, dark place thinking about what you’ve lost,” she said.

“With fire, it’s so final. Everything is reduced to ashes,” Gerhardt said.

Despite the scale of the destruction from the Camp Fire, the full weight of the disaster took longer to settle over her, Gerhardt said. She moved through different stages of anger – “Why did this happen?” – but busied herself by helping to rescue farm animals or cook meals for first responders.

“We were so busy doing that, I didn’t really think about (the loss). For me, I think it hit home two years later,” Gerhardt said. “It was like, ‘Wow, did this really happen?’ ”

The Camp Fire displaced roughly 50,000 residents from Paradise, including Harris and Gerhardt. Harris and her husband moved around for several years until 2020.

There were three fires Harris could see from her home – not within walking distance, but near enough to smell the smoke.

“After the smoke, I told my husband: ‘We’re leaving. These fires are not going to catch us another time,’” Harris said.

Gerhardt, too, relocated to nearby Chico but returned to Paradise last month to rebuild – as many on Maui have pledged to do. Other survivors who belong to her church in Paradise who also survived the Camp Fire are gathering gift cards for residents connected to her relatives on Maui.

As communication lines are restored, Harris and Gerhardt hope to connect with more Maui residents, so they might, if nothing else, offer support and understanding.

“People on the outside will think, ‘Gosh, aren’t you over it yet?’” Gerhardt said. “You never get over it. But with time, you heal and you move forward.”