Vacation Turned Disaster For Oklahoma Family Caught In Maui Wildfires

An Oklahoma family was in Maui to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary when the deadly wildfires began.

Related Story: Hawaii Works To Identify 99 Confirmed Dead After Maui Wildfires

Hairstylist Melody Barnes is no stranger to talking. But she never would have thought that she would be part of the conversation that the whole world is talking about.

Melody had a trip to Maui planned for months. But this was not the vacation she had in mind.

“My husband’s like, ‘let’s just go somewhere. Let’s get some air and food. It’s getting hot in here,” she said.

They left the hotel on August 8, the day of their 25th anniversary, never knowing they wouldn’t go back.

“We just thought it was a fire. We didn’t know the whole town was gonna be burnt to the ground,” she recalled.

Their hotel in Lahaina likely looks like the rest of the town. As the death toll rises, Melody knows what could have been.

“I know we’re safe and we’re alive. Our belongings may still be at the hotel, but we’re alive and that’s all that matters,” Melody said.

For three days, the family slept in their rental car and went to a shelter; calls from home were constant.

“We had lots of people praying for us, our church, and people calling and texting; clients and anybody that could think of us,” said Melody.

Melody is grateful to be back home, but this experience is one she will keep talking about for years to come.

“One to write about and tell grandkids one day,” she said.