Hawaii fire thrusts immigrant workers in Lahaina into limbo

After the devastating fires in Lahaina, there is an unusual moment of silence on Maui. It's a needed pause for some, but too quiet for others. As the extent of the devastation in Lahaina became clear, there was an even clearer call for tourists to stay away from Maui.Actor Jason Momoa took t…

LAHAINA, Hawaii — Freddy Tomas was working in his yard in Lahaina when the fire advanced with stunning speed right up to his fence. He rushed to save valuables from a safe inside his house but realized he didn't have time and fled, his face blackened with soot.

Days after fleeing in his pickup, amid smoke so thick he could only follow the red taillights of the vehicle in front of him and pray they were going the right way, the retired hotel worker from the Philippines returned to his destroyed home with his son to look for the safe. Tomas, 65, said it had contained passports, naturalization papers, other important documents and $35,000.

Search-and-rescue team members work Aug. 18 in a residential area devastated by a wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii.

After sifting through the ashes, father and son found the safe, but it had popped open in the fire, whipped by hurricane-force winds, and its contents were incinerated.

For immigrants like Tomas, Lahaina was an oasis, with nearly double the foreign-born population of the U.S. mainland. Now, those workers are trying to piece their lives back together after the Aug. 8 fire leveled the town.

Maui County and the Maui Police Department on Sunday confirmed the identifies of another five victims of the wildfires that devastated the area, the county website said. The confirmed death toll rose to 115 late Monday.

Jobs had been plentiful in the town that boasted a row of restaurants and shops along Lahaina's Front Street, bordering the azure waters of the Pacific. Lured as well by its beautiful vistas and laid-back lifestyle, foreign workers had flocked to Lahaina from all over the world.

Wilfred Bulosan, left, and Fred Tomas stand on the bed of a pickup Aug. 16 next to a checkpoint in Lahaina, Hawaii, to view their homes, which were consumed by the recent wildfire.

And they contributed significantly to the population and economy. The presence of immigrant workers in Lahaina boosted the proportion of its foreign-born residents to 32%, compared with 13.5% for the United States as a whole, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated in July 2022.

The labor shortage related to the COVID-19 pandemic created more opportunity for job seekers. In February, employers were trying to fill 14,000 jobs in Hawaii — roughly double the number of unfilled job openings that existed before the pandemic, Hawaii News Now reported, citing state economists.

Many foreign-born workers lost everything in the inferno. Some residents perished.

The Mexican Consulate in San Francisco said two men were confirmed dead and it was helping to arrange the return of their remains to their families in Mexico. A Costa Rican man was also among the 100-plus dead and many more remain missing.

The consulate said some 3,000 Mexican nationals are believed to be living on Maui, many working in pineapple fields, in hotels and restaurants, and other establishments with ties to tourism.

The aftermath of a wildfire is visible Aug. 17 in Lahaina, Hawaii.

Mexico's Consul General in San Francisco, Remedios Gomez Arnau, dispatched three staff members to Maui to help Mexican citizens deal with the tragedy. The Mexican government has been in contact with at least 250 of its citizens in Maui, she said, and reissued passports and birth certificates lost in the fire.

With businesses burned down, legions of those who survived are now jobless. Many are also without a place to live after the blaze also tore through housing of many people who worked at the town's hotels and resorts. And others are without a clear path forward.

Immigration attorney Kevin Block noted that some immigrants have permanent residency or temporary protected status, and some are in the United States illegally.

“A lot of those folks are nervous about applying for any kind of help,” he said. “When (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) rolls into town or when there’s government agencies around or even medical help, they’re very scared to get it because they’re scared of getting deported.”

Residents who were affected by the deadly wildfire that devastated the community gather Aug. 18 for a news conference in Lahaina, Hawaii.

A document provided by FEMA says anyone affected by a major disaster may be eligible for disaster assistance, including noncitizens whose deportation status is being withheld for at least one year, as well as noncitizens granted asylum. That assistance can include crisis counseling, legal assistance, medical care, food and shelter, and other relief services.

For immigrants who were brought to Maui as children, it is the only home they know.

Chuy Madrigal fled the blaze with nine members of his extended family, which originally is from Mexico.

They lost the home that his mom worked 30 years to save up enough money to buy and the food truck they started operating just three months ago, said Madrigal, who is a recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, for immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children but don’t have legal status.

“There has been a lot of fear,” he said. “But once you talk to people and tell them, ‘When we got here, we started from zero, this is zero again, we just got to get back on it and continue’ — a lot of people have said, ‘You’re right.’”

The family is planning to rebuild their lives again on Maui.

This photo provided by County of Maui shows fire and smoke filling the sky from wildfires on the intersection at Hokiokio Place and Lahaina Bypass in Maui, Hawaii on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. (Zeke Kalua/County of Maui via AP)

People watch as smoke and flames fill the air from raging wildfires on Front Street in downtown Lahaina, Maui on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. (Alan Dickar via AP)

The hall of historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission are engulfed in flames along Wainee Street on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Matthew Thayer/The Maui News via AP)

Wildfire wreckage is seen Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Wildfire wreckage is seen Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

A wasteland of burned out homes and obliterated communities is left on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii, following a stubborn blaze. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Summer Gerlingpicks up her piggy bank found in the rubble of her home following the wildfire Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Wildfire wreckage is shown Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

A burnt coconut tree is seen, Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Myrna Ah Hee reacts as she waits in front of an evacuation center at the War Memorial Gymnasium, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Wailuku, Hawaii. The Ah Hees were there because they were looking for her husband's brother. Their own home in Lahaina was spared, but the homes of many of their relatives were destroyed by wildfires. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

People gather at the Kahului Airport while waiting for flights Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023, in Kahului, Hawaii. Several thousand Hawaii residents raced to escape homes on Maui as the Lahaina fire swept across the island, killing multiple people and burning parts of a centuries-old town. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

An owl sits in a burnt tree, Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Wildfire wreckage is shown Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Members of a search-and-rescue team walk along a street, Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii, following heavy damage caused by wildfire. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

A man reacts as he sits on the Lahaina historic banyan tree damaged by a wildfire on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

In this photo released by the County of Maui, Mayor Richard Bissen and other officials view the fire damaged Banyan Court in Lahaina, Hawaii, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023. (County of Maui via AP)

Burnt boats sit in waters off of Lahaina, Hawaii, on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Wildfire devastation is seen outside the city Lahaina, Hawaii, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

A banyan tree rises among the Wildfire wreckage, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. For 150 years, the colossal tree shaded community events, including art fairs. It shaded townsfolk and tourists alike from the Hawaiian sun, befitting for a place once called "Lele," the Hawaiian word for "relentless sun." Like the town itself, its very survival is now in question, its limbs scorched by a devastating fire that has wiped away generations of history. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Women hug after digging through rubble of a home destroyed by a wildfire on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

A member of the search and rescue team walks with her cadaver dog near Front Street on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii, following heavy damage caused by wildfires. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

A man walks through wildfire wreckage Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

People walk along Main Street past wildfire damage on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

A boy rides along Main Street past wildfire damage on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Wildfire wreckage is shown Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

A burnt statue sits amid the rubble of a home, Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

A man and dog ride along Main Street past wildfire damage, Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

A woman digs through rubble of a home destroyed by a wildfire on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Melted beer bottles are shown in the back of a burnt out truck following the wildfires Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

A group of volunteers who sailed from Maalaea Bay, Maui, form an assembly line on Kaanapali Beach on Saturday Aug. 12, 2023, to unload donations from a boat. Maui residents have come together to donate water, food and other essential supplies to people on the western side of the island after a deadly fire destroyed hundreds of homes and left scores of people homeless. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Thomas Leonard lies on an air mattress at an evacuation center at the War Memorial Gymnasium after his Lahaina apartment burned down, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Wailuku, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

JP Mayoga, right, a chef at the Westin Maui, Kaanapali, and his wife, Makalea Ahhee, hug on their balcony at the hotel and resort, Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023, near Lahaina, Hawaii. About 200 employees are living there with their families. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Sydney Carney walks through her home, which was destroyed by a wildfire, Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Wildfire wreckage is seen Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The search of the wildfire wreckage on the Hawaiian island of Maui on Thursday revealed a wasteland of burned out homes and obliterated communities as firefighters battled the deadliest blaze in the U.S. in recent years. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Destroyed homes and cars are shown, Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Wildfire wreckage is shown Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

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After the devastating fires in Lahaina, there is an unusual moment of silence on Maui. It's a needed pause for some, but too quiet for others.…