Hawaiian broadcaster reveals on-air that he lost 4 kin to wildfires

A Hawaiian broadcaster described the devastating loss of four relatives to the Maui wildfires as a “gut punch” in a heartbreaking moment live on-air this weekend – as the death toll in the horrific blazes nears 100.

Hawaiian News Now journalist Jonathan Masaki Shiroma revealed Saturday that four of his loved ones were among the 96 people confirmed to have died as they tried to flee the US’s deadliest wildfire in more than a century – and that he had at least one other relative still missing.

“It’s like a gut punch,” Shiroma told LiveNOW from FOX Saturday. 

“You hear the words of devastation, and then you realize that the hometown that, as a child, [you were] playing in the cane fields and near what was the Pioneer Mill, you know, and then the hearing that family members lost their lives as they tried to leave the flames that just engulfed so quickly, and one still remained missing – it becomes so personal,” he said.

The Lahaina native and retired lieutenant colonel with the US Army has previously been sent to numerous fires while working with the California National Guard – and now must provide critical news-station updates as the wildfires ravage the historic Maui town of about 13,000 people.

“I’ve been on those wildfire coverages in California, and seeing the devastation that occurs and cities burned to the ground – there’s really no way to know how to respond in an emotional [way and, quite frankly, in any type of way, because it happened so fast,” he said.

“With the magnitude of what’s going on, everybody’s trying to make heads or tails of what to do next. And I believe slowly but surely that that is starting to happen,” he continued. “And it’s just beyond, I guess, the scope of what we can sometimes fathom of dealing with things.”

Shiroma shared pictures of Lahaina, where the most extensive devastation occurred. The massive blaze has ended up destroying more than 2,700 structures and causing damages estimated at nearly $6 billion there.

“As we look at just the magnitude of the devastation, I think what is important is that if we can go back to those memories to really think about what this area represents and how the Hawaiian people really used this land and this area as the capital of Hawaii, before it became a state,” Shiroma said.

While Shiroma said he is trying to focus on memories of the island from when he was a child “before the big resorts” came in, he also remained hopeful that the spirit of “ohana” – or family – holds strong during the horrific tragedy.

“It’s amazing that in Hawaii, even in the midst of just everyday life, there’s always a sense of ‘ohana.’ So you may not necessarily know someone very well, but if you see someone on the street that is hungry and [you say], ‘Auntie, Sister, you know, Uncle, come; come eat,’ – I know that’s going on over there,” he said. “I know that the extension of that extended family [is happening] because family is so big on the island.”

Hawaiian officials have urged tourists to avoid traveling to Maui as many hotels prepare to house evacuees and first responders.

About 46,000 residents and visitors have flown out of Kahului Airport in West Maui since the devastation in Lahaina became clear Wednesday, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

With the climbing death toll, the Maui wildfires now surpass the 2018 Camp Fire in northern California that killed 85 people and destroyed the town of Paradise.

With Post wires