Many Maui restaurants were destroyed in the fires. For those that survived, their future remains uncertain
On August 8, the day that Maui was overcome with flames, Qiana Di Bari saw a puff of smoke near her home and knew she and her family had to escape.
Earlier that day, a fire had been spotted and put out in her vibrant Lahaina neighborhood. But by late afternoon, Di Bari was hearing of more fires elsewhere on the island. The island’s resources, she knew, were stretched thin.
“When I saw that fire reignite … we knew we were on our own,” she said.
She, her husband and their daughter grabbed some essentials — cell phones, important documents, school books, a few outfits each — and fled. “My gut just told me to run,” she said. “Within minutes, our neighborhood was gone.”
Miraculously, Di Bari’s home survived. But Sale Pepe Pizzeria e Cucina, the Italian restaurant she owns with her husband, did not.
