NORFOLK, Va. — Teams from Portsmouth-based nonprofit Mercy Chefs on Thursday arrived on the Hawaiian Islands where devastating wildfires have killed at least 53 people and injured dozens more.
Scripps News reported 11,000 people have been evacuated from Lahaina, the historic town ravaged by the wildfires.
Mercy Chefs said it has two teams on the ground in Maui, consisting of about 15 people.
The organization has partnered with two churches on the island that still have power and service for evacuees. They've also been given a golf course kitchen to cook meals.
Mercy Chefs founder and CEO Gary LeBlanc told News 3 this is an unprecedented event.
"We've not seen a circumstance so challenging or so actually incredibly sad," he said. "It's very tragic. The loss of life is very huge in a small-knit community. Everyone's going to know someone that lost a life. It's just devastating for the people of Hawaii."
LeBlanc compared Maui to a ship that's on fire.
"Where do you go?" he said. "It's an island in the middle of the ocean. With this fire, everything has to be brought in. Everybody has to be evacuated. It's really a very unique situation."
There are several challenges facing the teams of volunteers including the topography, where communities are isolated.
Communication has also been a challenge.
"They've not had 911 service or phone service," LeBlanc said. "All the cell towers have been down so they've been completely cut off. The mobile hotspots are helping but again the bandwidth on those is very limited."
LeBlanc estimated the teams will be there for 10 to 14 days, but that time could be extended.
"Mercy Chefs always goes to the heart of the need," LeBlanc said. "We stay as long as we need to to get a community back to as close to normalcy as we can. We think that's going to be an extended period for us."
You can donate to Mercy Chefs by clicking here.
