MAUI, Hawaii — The Boise woman who had moved to Lahaina with her husband over 10 years ago has died after being badly burned in the Maui fires. She passed away in the hospital.
Perry and Laurie Allen had lost everything they had in Hawaii after the fire.
“My uncle had his cell phone and the clothes on his back,” their nephew Caleb Hood said. “I can't even imagine the trauma and they've lost everything.”
He described the moment Perry Allen was alerted that something was terribly wrong.
“My uncle got sort of a cryptic voicemail from what we think was EMT saying ‘we have your wife we're flying her to Oahu, she's been badly burned,’” Hood told KTVB.
Laurie Allen was with her neighbors watching the flames rush in.
“Before they knew it, (the fire) was on them and it's like, 'we got to go, we got to get our stuff and go,'” Hood said. “They were able to at least get somewhat out of the neighborhood, but then were overcome by the flames.”
From there, Perry Allen -- who was at work -- frantically flew to Oahu to find his wife.
“She was a Jane Doe for several hours until my uncle could figure out what hospital she was at,” Hood said.
Fortunately, Hood's uncle found her. The two had lived in the area for over a decade, and while they lost all of their belongings, the focus is primarily on Laurie Allen's recovery.
“It's going to be several months, weeks in the hospital. They are still doing some medically induced comas to... I’m not trying to get too graphic... But they have to peel off her skin basically twice a day, is my understanding, to let it regrow. That's part of the regeneration process. She was and still is pretty heavily sedated and medicated to keep from realizing that pain," Hood said. "So, she's not good, but she's alive and she's going to be awesome… She's got a long road ahead of her with recovery and surgeries.”
While the couple's home has been destroyed, they still have each other and their loved ones who are praying for them.
“We're thousands of miles away, but things are going to be okay,” Hood said. “We don't know how, but it will be.”
The family started a GoFundMe to help the couple rebuild their lives. You can find it here.
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