2 weeks after the devastating Hawaii fire, family of missing man holds onto hope

Whenever Ku’ulei Barut hears about someone from Hawaii being reunited with a lost family member, she’s simultaneously overjoyed and devastated.

That’s because Barut’s brother, Lahaina resident Po’omaika’i Estores-Losano, hasn’t been heard from in more than two weeks.

He’s one of more than 1,000 people still unaccounted for after a hurricane-fuelled wildfire ripped through the historic seaside town on the Hawaiian island of Maui earlier this month. So far, Maui police say 115 people are confirmed dead — but that toll is expected to grow. 

It’s not clear where Estores-Losano was when the rapidly moving fire struck on Aug. 8.  All his family knows is that he was off work that day, and spoke to his grandmother that morning, before the fire started. His two children, ages five and six, escaped the fire with their mother. 

Barut flew to Hawaii from Pennsylvania after the fire to be with her family and help search for her brother. She spoke to As It Happens guest host Katie Simspon on Wednesday from the Hawaiian capital of Honolulu. Here is part of their conversation. 

How are you doing?

Oh, it’s been a crazy past two weeks. A lot of emotions and, you know, just going by the day.

I imagine you haven’t been getting much sleep.

No.

Are you still holding out hope that you’ll be able to find your brother and that he’s alive?

It’s going to be 15 days today. We still have some hope. But at the same time, we’re also preparing for the worst.

What are you trying to do to find out where he might be or what might have happened?

Me and my mom and my cousin have been calling all the shelters. We actually put out flyers of him, too, in most of the shelters and where the Red Cross stations are when they check in. We also called hospitals.

But nothing so far.

There are hundreds of families that are in the same sort of difficult position that you’re in right now. When you think about that, how do you feel?

I don’t know. It kind of makes me a little angry because there’s a lot of ways that could have been prevented.

I get so happy, though, when people get reunited. But it kind of makes me upset, too, because I would love to reunite with my brother.

Are you hearing stories of hope where people are being reunited?

I’ve heard one recently. Her dad was missing for 13 days and he had popped up and told her that he was OK and they reunited. But that was only one out of the thousand.

What have you seen since you returned to Hawaii?

I’ve seen a lot of unification with everybody. Like, I’ve never seen the islands come together like that.

And then a lot of sadness and a lot of crying because it’s really devastating. Especially because I … lived in Lahaina for almost 10 years, and Lahaina’s a really small community, and everybody gets along and loves one another. And it’s kind of like, I don’t know how it’ll rebuild after that, or how long it’ll take to rebuild.

As someone who lived there, can you describe what you saw and what it felt like to see the destruction?

It was like out of a horror movie — like something you don’t see. And I feel like it’s a dream most times, because you never expect that. Especially in Hawaii, because Hawaii is so small.

I just have a lot of questions and a lot of them aren’t getting answered.

What do you want to hear from officials? What questions do you have?

I want to know the actual body count. I want to know the actual percentage of how much of [the city searchers] have covered.

I know there’s only so much they can do. I feel like a lot of families are wanting answers, and it’s just the waiting and not knowing.

Can you tell us about your brother?

From my perspective, because I’m a sister, he was kind of annoying. But he had a really good personality. Like, he always saw the best in people. Like, no matter how bad they could do, he’ll always tell me, “It’s OK,” you know, “Time will go by.”

He was a really good guy.

When your brother’s children ask about their dad, what do you say?

The youngest one doesn’t really ask anything. But the oldest one … he asked me, “If my daddy lived in Lahaina, then where is he now?”

And I kind of broke down, because I didn’t know how to answer that. Because I don’t even know myself. And I didn’t want to lie to him.

He’s at the age where he asks a lot of questions. But … [his] mom had told him that anybody that has been caught in the fire, they go to heaven.

At this point, with all of the frustrations and the sadness that you’ve described, what is helping you go on day-to-day?

My family. My husband. I know it’s bad, but when people pass away, it kind of brings your family together. And I talk to my grandma … daily, and I am staying with my mom, so it’s kind of relieving.

We reminisce about memories, but we also cry about it, or we laugh. And my cousin, too, because my cousin has been … the one that’s been driving around calling. And it’s been a relief.