‘We’re broken’: Maui family tries to pick up the pieces after fire claimed their home

WAILUKU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A family of four is still struggling to recover after a house fire displaced 18 people in Maui earlier this month.

The fire damaged four units on Waimaluhia Lane in Wailuku on June 16.

“Physically we’re OK, mentally we’re broken,” said the girls’ mother Natasha Moepono.

On top of losing all their belongings, the family also lost their pet “Shorty.”

“He passed in the fire from smoke inhalation,” Moepono said. “That’s how bad the fire was. They found him in the bathtub.”

Moepono said Shorty was her daughter’s emotional support dog.

“He picked up on her seizures and everything,” she said pointing to her 9-year-old daughter Leiohu.

Leiohu says she’ll miss Shorty’s funny side the most, especially when he would jump into the bathtub for his bath.

Maui Fire Department said its investigation is complete and investigators could not determine what caused the fire.

“Until I see the paperwork, then I’ll know it wasn’t anything I did,” Moepono said.

Moepono and her family have been living in the homeless shelter for the past 12 days.

They started a GoFundMe page to help them rebuild.

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