ORLANDO, Fla. – An Orange County man hopes his community can help his brother and cousin bounce back after losing a home and their businesses in Hawaii.
As hundreds of people are still unaccounted for in Maui following raging wildfires, Orange County resident Ivan Campos is hoping more survivors are found safe, all while counting his blessings that his loved ones there are OK.
“Seeing the video footage of the fires traveling at great speeds across the land, the only thing I could think of was, ‘Where Is my brother? Where is my cousin?” Campos said.
He told News 6 that his older brother, Gabriel Campos, and his cousin, Javier Barberi, moved to Hawaii for the great weather, scenic views and paradise. They’re thankfully OK, but their life right now is not the same.
“My cousin’s home burned down. Thankfully my brother’s is fine and thankfully they have a place to live,” Campos said.
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He said the two are part-owners at a few restaurants in the town of Lahaina.
Right now, Campos said his relatives are working to get results to help themselves and many of their employees bounce back.
“A lot of them have lost their homes that they live in because they lived so close to where they worked in Lahaina, it’s been burned down,” Campos said.
Campos said his cousin in Maui helped set up a GoFundMe account to get results for his workers, who he said are like family there.
Now more than ever, Campos said that monetary donations will help big time.
“They’re already in the plans of making eight tiny homes and with these funds that’s what they’re going to use the money for, to find place for people to live,” Campos said.
Campos, who also works as an Orange County Utilities engineering inspector, is trying to be optimistic for the people in Maui and for his family members, but he knows it may take a while before paradise returns.
“They’re going to need their restaurants to open up again, they’re going to need their employees to have a place to live,” Campos said.
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