Aloha’s Edlao Shares First-Hand Account of Maui Wildfires’ Devastation

On Aug. 8, Jerry Edlao, salesman for Aloha Termite and Pest Control, Kapolei, Hawaii, and former owner of Accu-Pest & Termite Services, picked up the phone to call his brother after following the news of deadly wildfires spreading throughout Maui, and into the town of Lahaina, where his brother lived.

When he didn’t answer, he knew something wasn’t right.

“My brother lived right in the heart of the town and we couldn’t get a hold of him,” Edlao said. “We looked for him on Facebook, several areas of [missing persons] lists and I finally saw his name on there. We ended up getting a hold of him [last Friday].”

Edlao’s brother and his wife made their way up north to escape the smoke and spread of flames that had taken over their neighborhood.

When they returned, nothing but ash was left.

“Their house is completely gone,” Edlao said. “The whole historical district is all gone. The one thing that was untouched was the Maria Lanakila Catholic Church.”

Edlao’s brother recalled looking out of his window to see smoke filling the skies, while firemen made their way up the mountain to contain the fire. A while later, the fire flared up and his family had to evacuate with no warning.

“They should have kept one or two guys to watch the fire,” Edlao said. “The winds were blowing about 50 to 60 MPH.”

Firefighters said weak water pressure and failing hydrants hampered their efforts, according to a CNN report. The news source as reported nearly 100 deaths as a result of the wildfires, which are now the deadliest U.S. wildfire in over 100 years, and reported damages estimating $3 billion to $7.5 billion.

As a nearly 50-year pest control veteran, who now works for Aloha as a retirement move “to help people solve their pest problems,” Edlao sells pest control services like fumigation on the island of Maui and in Lahaina. He said his “clients’ minds are just not there right now” to continue business as usual.

“I don’t want to call and ask [my clients] how it’s going because I know how it is. … It’s devastating,” Edlao said. “I unfortunately have had no contact with our commercial companies.”

© Jerry Edlao

With Edlao’s experience working in the field as a former owner/operator, he said he could imagine most of the wildlife and pests that were inhabiting in Lahaina are now gone.

“Eventually, they will come back, it’s just a matter of when,” he said. “It’s going to take years for a complete cleanup. Pests may move in from other areas, but that remains to be seen right now.”

Aloha President Jon Montalbo told PCT his sole focus is supporting his employees and customers in whatever help they need to overcome their tragic losses.

“Once things start to settle down and they get their families safe and taken care of, then we will worry about work,” he said. “This disaster is going to change the community there for a long time and we will be there to help and support that regrowth, however it is needed.”

Teamwork can go a long way, especially during times of crisis and devastation. Montalbo said that’s exactly what his team have focused on in support of one another and their customers.

“Our Oahu team has also taken upon themselves to clean out the homes with whatever clothing, blankets and pillows they can spare to donate,” he said. “We are collecting all these donations at our Oahu location and will be sending out on weekly shipments to Maui with the support from Veseris, which has graciously stepped up to help us with the logistics.”

Kilauea Pest Control President John Speed and his team have more than 100 customers whose homes and business were lost in the fires.

Speed said all of his employees are accounted for and have not lost their homes, but several of their families were not so fortunate.

“We are helping provide temporary housing where we can,” he said. “We are working with several other pest control companies to provide items to support those affected and transportation for the items.”

Speed has also been working with other PMPs locally and nationally to aid recovery efforts.

“Ian Mateo from Pest Tech has been instrumental in this,” Speed said. “Many industry friends have reached out with concern and support. Nate Tamialis from Veseris has also been instrumental in organizing industry resources with NPMA.”

With no rest on the horizon in the foreseeable future, Montalbo said first thing first is taking care of the people.

“One thing great about our industry is the bugs will always be there and we will be here to support the community in that area when that time comes,” he said.

As for Edlao’s brother and his wife, they remain safe in their family cottage, waiting to return back to their once-called hometown.