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Cleveland native living in Hawaii 'heartbroken' to see catastrophic fire damage

Jackie Lucas lives in Oahu and plans to help neighbors in Maui with her small business
Cleveland woman living in Oahu
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CLEVELAND — The damage is catastrophic in Hawaii; fires still scorch the island of Maui. The most widespread devastation is in the historic town of Lahaina. At least 53 have been killed; thousands are displaced.

Jackie Lucas loves living in Oahu, Hawaii. The North Ridgeville native started "The Vive Hair Society" when she moved to Kailua.

"I actually meet a decent about of Ohio people who have moved out here actually; the other hairstylist at my salon she just moved here from Fairview Park a few weeks ago," Lucas said.

On Maui, where fires are still burning, Lucas is worried for her neighbors.

"My heart breaks for these families. That's their home; they own small businesses, the fisherman in Lahaina, just seeing videos of the Puron fire, it's really truly heartbreaking," Luas said.

Lucas said her island is expecting an influx of people evacuating Maui.

"Sounds like they're trying to clear out the hotels on Maui for residents, and so I know that I saw that they were transporting 4,000 over to Oahu, having people stay in the convention center; they're getting that all set up," Lucus said.

Cleveland woman in Hawaii
Jackie Lucas loves exploring her town of Kailua on the island of Oahu.

Maui is a very popular vacation destination for Clevelanders, according to Ventures Away Travel based in Cleveland.

"All the airlines are tied up, hotels. Any hotel, like the Hyatt Regency they literally stopped accepting arrivals. So even if you had a reservation right now, you're not going to get there," Venica Hearst said.

Hearst said she has clients who just go back from Hawaii. If the trip is on your schedule, Hearst suggests doing your research ahead of time and traveling prepared.

"If you already have tickets, get your refunds. Don't reschedule because you can reschedule; we don't know when that next time will be," Hearst said.

On Oahu, Lucas said she'll use her business to help.

"For every bottle of shampoo and conditioner purchased, I'm going to donate a bottle of shampoo and conditioner to ship over. I know that toiletries is one of the big things on their list that they need," Lucas said

Cleveland woman starts hair salon in Hawaii
Lucas started "Vive Hair Society" in Kailua four years ago. Her fellow stylist is from Fairview Park.

Hawaii's governor said this is likely the largest natural disaster in state history. President Biden approved a disaster declaration to ramp up federal aid for areas affected.

"Everyone talks about 'Aloha' and 'Ohana,' and really in times like this, you see everybody coming together even though it's not our specific island, all the small businesses, the whole community is already rushing to get donation drives going, shipping containers going, volunteers' things like that," Lucas said.

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