68-year-old Franklin Trejos has been confirmed to be one of at least 101 victims of the forest fires that have ravaged Hawaii recently.
It is still expected that the death toll will rise.
He died in a desperate attempt to protect the three-year-old golden retriever, Sam, writes NBC News.
Trejos is said to have been a longtime friend of Shannon Weber-Bogar and her husband Geoff Bogar. All three are said to have lived together in the couple’s home in Lahaina, Maui’s largest town, which has been destroyed by the fires.
Weber-Bogar tells NBC that Trejos was the type of person who always stopped to talk to everyone he knew.
– He was just the friendliest guy you will ever meet, she says to the newspaper.
– Apocalyptic
The car did not start
As the flames began to approach the neighborhood, Trejos and Bogar took on the job of evacuating as many people as possible and then stayed behind in an effort to save the house.
After a short time they realized that there was no chance and they ran towards their cars to escape, says Weber-Bogar, who was out of town herself.
On the way to the car, Trejos allegedly grabbed Sam, the couple’s three-year-old golden retriever, whom he considered his own.
More than 90 people lost their lives in the fierce forest fire that hit Maui, Hawaii’s second largest island. New images show how dramatic the escape from the sea of flames was for the inhabitants of the island. Reporter: Jostein Sletten / Dagbladet. Video: AP / Private Show more
However, Bogar’s car would not start and he therefore ran to seek cover. An escape which caused him several burns, according to his wife.
The next day he is said to have gone back to look for his friend and the dog.
Inside Trejo’s car, Bogar found his friend’s lifeless body over Sam’s body.
– He must have realized what was about to happen and crawled into the compartment and lay on top of him, says Weber-Bogar, who adds that there was more of the dog than Trejos.
Reveals grim truth
Waited to rise
The fires on the Hawaiian island of Maui started on the night of Tuesday 8 August and are described as the deadliest in the United States in over 100 years.
In the town where Trejos and the Bogar couple lived, at least 2,700 buildings have been destroyed.
Night to Wednesday, Norwegian time, the governor of Maui confirms that at least 101 have been confirmed dead, but the death toll is expected to rise, and the health hazard may last for a long time as a result of pollution in the air and drinking water.
According to NTB, Hawaii has the world’s most comprehensive warning system for natural disasters, but the warning sirens should not have gone off when the flames spread towards built-up areas. In addition, people were without electricity and mobile networks in several areas.
2023-08-16 01:32:44
#save #dog #died
