A young Australian family living in Maui has been caught up in the devastating wildfire that enveloped the island, uncertain about what has happened to their home and belongings.
Nathalie Smith, her husband Matt and their two children, Jacksen, 11, and Kai, 6, have called the Hawaiian island of Maui home for the last six years.
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The couple have established strong roots in Hawaii, with their youngest son born on the island of Oahu, and both boys attending primary school in Maui.
The family had just moved into a new condo in Lahaina on the west side of the island last week when Nathalie and her children were forced to evacuate on Tuesday.
At least three major fires broke out on Maui on Tuesday night, cutting off the western side of the island and Lahaina.
Cassandra Smith told 7NEWS.com.au her sister made the call to evacuate when she spotted a raging fire burning only 200m away from her home.
“She saw a fire just like, go up, and she also saw because the wind was so strong, they were knocking down power lines,” Cassandra said.
“She said both sides of the road were on fire, and she was driving with her sons on an empty tank thinking, ‘That might be it’. She honestly thought that (was) going to be it for her.”
Nathalie and her children are now staying with family friends on a safe part of Maui, while her husband Matt is stuck in a separate part of the island, unable to reach her.
Cassandra, who lives in Victoria, said it was a “miracle” her sister and her nephews managed to get to safety unharmed.
“It was so sudden … no one knew it was coming that quickly,” she said.
“She was so shaken.”
With mobile phone reception almost nonexistent, Cassandra has only been able to contact her sister a handful of times.
The lack of reception has also meant Nathalie is largely unaware of the extent of the fires.
The death toll from the disaster has risen to 53, and at least 271 structures in Lahaina have been destroyed or damaged.
Lahaina is one of Maui’s prime attractions, drawing two million tourists to the island each year, or about 80 per cent of the island’s visitors.
Nathalie and her family have no idea what’s become of their home, and whether any of their belongings they left behind will be salvageable.
“She was crying, (she said) ‘I don’t know what I grabbed, I just grabbed my passports’, and then you know, she was apologising, she forgot her necklace, but you don’t think,” Cassandra said.
“I know she left with what’s on her back, and they don’t have anything else as far as we know.”
Cassandra has set up a GoFundMe to help raise funds for her sister and family, as well as their friends on the island.
“We have so many friends because (Nathalie) has lived on the island for so long, and it’s a second home for our family,” she said.
“We know multiple families that have lost everything.”
Over $2600 has been raised via the fundraiser so far.
US President Joe Biden has now approved a disaster declaration for Hawaii, with the fires deemed the worst disaster to impact the island state since a devastating tsunami left 61 people dead in 1960.
The cause of the wildfires has yet to be determined, but the US National Weather Service said dry vegetation, strong winds, and low humidity fuelled them.
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