BALTIMORE, Ohio — At least 55 people are dead after wildfires ripped across the Hawaiian island of Maui.
An Ohio man, Archie Spradlin, lived in Maui until he was 22 years old.
"To see your childhood basically gone up in smoke is very, very heartbreaking," said Spradlin.
He said he spent the last several days checking on friends who were forced to evacuate their homes in Lahaina.
"I wish I was there to be able to help," he said. "It hurts me to see everything gone in an instant like that that had been there for hundreds of years, and just the history, the beauty, and things like that turned into an inferno in an instant."
Fortunately, Spradlin said all of his friends have marked themselves safe, but some people are still unaccounted for.
Spradlin tells his loved ones to "do a lot of praying and stick together. Maui strong."
If you need help locating a missing person due to the wildfires, the American Red Cross recommends the following:
- Please call 1-800 RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) and select Option 4. Follow the voice prompts for "Hawaii Wildfires."
- Provide as much detail as possible to assist in potentially locating your missing loved one.
- Please note call volume is high and callers may experience longer than normal wait times.