Maui fire upends travel plans

Aug. 21—SanTan Valley resident Misty Pollina says she has spent the past eight months planning a big corporate trip to Maui. A week before the trip was scheduled to leave, she got a message from her assistant to check the news.

Maui was on fire.

Wildfires spread quickly over the Hawaiian island on Aug. 8, fueled in part by the winds generated by Hurricane Dora. As of Aug. 16, officials have confirmed 110 people died and about $3.2 billion in property damage.

The death toll could go higher. Officials say about 1,000 are still missing and they've only been able to search 38% of the burn area.

Pollina, who is co-owner of The Pixie Planner in Tempe, had less than a week to redo eight months of work.

"I work with a large company in the Phoenix area every year on their corporate incentive trip," Pollina said. "I've been working for eight months with them on welcome parties, farewell dinners, all kinds of private events, of course. Tons of excursions for these 24 people."

After her assistant told her to check the news, Pollina realized she had a big problem.

"It kind of was panic mode in the beginning and things were just kind of all starting to happen and come out about how bad the fire was and all of that," she said. "So I said let's give it 24 hours because I kind of need things to settle a little bit."

Once it became clear Maui was not an option, Pollina talked with representatives from the company and they chose an alternative site, Cancun, Mexico.

She said they were able to put together most of the events they had planned for Maui, but that the trip wouldn't be as nice as what they originally had planned.

Pollina said she really appreciates the airlines and hotels refunding all the money. They did not need to deal with travel insurance and that helped her arrange the Cancun trip quickly.

Chandler resident Jordan Cooley said he booked a zipline/climbing adventure to Lahaina, the city hit hard by the wildfire, the day before fire swept through that community.

"I wound up canceling and getting most things refunded," Cooley said. "I have rebooked to the Big Island."

While he was looking for housing, he said he saw a few listings that there was no vacation booking so they could provide housing to evacuees.

"The hotels were extremely full," Cooley said.

While most people are apparently getting full refunds, it hasn't been that easy for everyone.

Nikki Pugliese-Rich posted in the Facebook group Living Chandler she was having trouble canceling her Airbnb reservation in Maui. Cassie Hepler wrote in a social media post she was getting frustrated with her attempts to reschedule a Maui trip with the hotel, airline and car rental agency.

Melissa Yetter, from the Cruisin Couple Travel Agency in Chandler, said the loss of life and property is just the start for the people of West Maui.

She said they rely on tourism for their livelihoods and it may be years before the area can fully recover.

"I personally have reached out to each individual that would have been traveling to Maui between now and December," Yetter said. "I explained to them that this is their livelihood, they've lost families, they've lost friends.

"Out of respect, could I just reroute them to either Kauai or Oahu. Everybody has been more than accommodating."

Yetter said this tragedy has hit her hard because she once lived in Hawaii, before moving to Chandler 24 years ago.

Most airlines and hotels are giving full refunds to anyone who had planned to travel to Maui, Yetter said.

She said the fire destroyed an area nearly every tourist knows well.

"That is where a lot of the tourists stay," Yetter said. "If you were to say Front Street to anybody who's visited Maui, they would know exactly what you're talking about. It's where you picked up the ferry to go over to the other islands."

Yetter said she was in Maui in May at the area that has now been destroyed.

"We sat out there watching all the boats coming in and out, and the surfers and music," she said.

Tourism represents about 25% of Hawaii's economy. The Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism projected tourism would bring nearly $21 billion to the state this year.

Hawaii Governor Josh Green has discouraged travel to West Maui through the end of this month. More than half of Maui's economy is related to tourism.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority issued this update:

"Visitors largely heeded the call to leave Maui in the early days of this unprecedented disaster. In the weeks ahead, the collective resources and attention of the federal, state and county government, the West Maui community, and the travel industry must be focused on the recovery of residents who lost loved ones, homes, their belongings, and businesses."