The First Videos Emerge From Maui’s Devastating Fires (and What You Can Do to Help)

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The fire, which started Tuesday, burned through the dry growth and rapidly picked up alarming momentum, catching the island completely by surprise. It has not only destroyed homes and businesses, but also knocked out electricity and cell service, making it tougher for people to get the help they need.

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“There is no cell phone (service), there’s no electricity, there’s no devices to be used anywhere,” Laren Garter, owner of the Lahaina restaurant Cheeseburger in Paradise, told CNN. “We don’t know where our employees are. We have some people sleeping in their cars on the side of the highway with their families, their animals — and we haven’t been able to find them.”

While fundraising efforts are already underway to help restaurants like Cheeseburger in Paradise rebuild, Garter is skeptical. “Lahaina looks like a bomb went off,” she said. “The entire village has been turned into rubble…we’re going to need help from America.”

You can’t go down there and fight the fires yourself, but there are still plenty of ways to contribute and help the affected communities rebuild. Here are some aid organizations accepting donations.

• The Hawaii Community Foundation– Supports communities affected by the wildfires.
• Maui United Way– Provides immediate financial assistance through grants to nonprofits spearheading relief efforts, and to individuals who have been affected by the fires.
• American Red Cross– Disaster relief for those forced to flee their homes.
  Maui Food Bank– Accepting money, food, toiletries, and other household items for those in need.
• Maui Humane Society– Looking for volunteers to foster dogs displaced by the wildfires, as well as donations of pet food, litter, and pop-up kennels.