A Lahaina resident had some choice words for President Joe Biden after the Maui wildfires uprooted her life.
The anonymous native participated in a video interview with reporter Jeremy Loffredo, and she explained her need for aid, as her cash savings and medications were lost in her home, which burned in the fire. She shared her disgust with Biden's visit to the state earlier this week.
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An indigenous Lahaina local tells me she lost her house, pets, medicine and cash savings. She can't get a call back from FEMA and has yet to see any type of US aid relief.
— Jeremy Loffredo (@loffredojeremy) August 25, 2023
She says Joe Biden should keep his insulting $700 because of the "gazillions" he's sending Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/FLNgMdemtq
"I think Joe Biden should take his $700 and get back on the f***ing plane and go home. That’s what I think," she said. "The $700 compared to all the millions he’s giving to Ukraine. Why? We need it. That’s why we don’t understand why. We’re citizens, and we cannot get money, but if they’re not citizens, they get gazillions of dollars from the USA. Where is our government?"
The $700 is a reference to the Federal Emergency Management Agency doling out critical needs assistance "to address immediate needs such as food, water and clothing." However, according to the website, there is "a range of federal disaster assistance available." FEMA encouraged those in need to call to receive updates on their application for aid, but this resident claimed, "I haven’t had anybody call me back."
"Fix your house before you fix somebody else’s house," she continued. "Everybody feels that way. Come on. That’s why the local people stick together and we help our own people — because we know the outside people are not gonna do it."
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As of Thursday, the death toll was 115. Few victims have been identified as authorities struggle to confirm their identities. Maui police have searched 78% of the area.
Two weeks ago, there were four total fires, and one, in the Puʻukoliʻi Kaʻanapal area, was extinguished. Since then, one of the fires has been designated as two separate fires, the Kula and Olinda fires, which are both 85% contained. The Pulehu/Kihei fire is 100% contained, and the fire in Lahaina is 90% contained. Altogether, the fires have burned through over 3,000 acres in Maui.