Those displaced by the fires have found temporary quarters in hotels and with family and friends. One host opened their home to 87 evacuees, most of them from one extended family.

While the world focuses on the devastation in West Maui and the destruction of the historic community of Lahaina, another wildfire is still burning in the hills some 25 miles away in Kula.

In Maui, NPR joined a tour boat operator to see the grassroots initiative the local surfing community and neighbors started to fill in gaps not currently being filled by official channels.