SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY, Pa. — "I knew it was bad, but looking at the pictures, it was just unimaginable," said Sandi Mowry of Clifford.
For the last few days she has only been able to watch as her son's family lost almost everything in the fires that torched the island of Maui.
"They thought about coming back home, they have the four children and he thought it may not be safe there," said Mowry. "I think they were waiting to see if they still had a home left before they made the final decision, when they finally went down to see their home was gone his wife and children said they wanted to stay to rebuild Maui."
Her son Matt Jenkins and his family were some of the many whose houses were turned to ash after fires on the island started earlier this week.
"There was no evacuation notice whatsoever for anyone in the town," said Jenkins. "There's still 1,000 people missing and counting, I know that they continue to find more and more dead bodies."
While much of the island is still without power, Jenkins was able to reach us over the phone, describing how his paradise quickly turned into something that more resembled a war zone.
"I was told that there was three different fires that sparked up at the same time, we had hurricane winds all day, we lost power at 5am that day," said Jenkins. "It was the scariest day I've ever seen in my life."
But in these times of hardship, Jenkins says it's the people who have kept spirits high as more support continues to come.
"This is a truly truly special place, not only in America, but the world. The people that live here and are from this island deserve every bit of resources that are available," said Jenkins. "I hope that as a country we can band together and provide assistance for the people here."