Local couple lose it all in Maui fire

Al and Lori Ulman on their way back to Maui where a recent fire wiped out their home and their town Lahaina. Both were in Hamtramck visiting family when the fire broke out back home.

By Charles Sercombe
By now, most of us are aware of the deadly fire that has destroyed virtually the whole town of Lahaina on the island of Maui in Hawaii.
There’s a local connection.
It’s the home of Hamtramckans Al and Lori Ulman, who happened to be visiting back here when the fire broke out and burned down his entire hometown of Lahaina.
Al and Lori lost their home and all their possessions, but fortunately a friend was able to save their cats.
Al, for those who don’t know him, is a renowned magician who goes by the stage name “Al the Only.”
His family has been widely known in town for many decades, and the family home is still in Hamtramck
After having to wait several days for a flight back to Hawaii, they are back on Maui.
Here’s an excerpt of what Al had to say, in a Facebook posting, before he returned, about the outpouring of concern from relatives and friends:
“Lori and I are alive and safe. We’re still on the mainland after attending the Abbott’s Magic Get Together. Thank you for thinking about us. The stream of calls, texts and emails is helping us through this.
“Lori and I need to make an unexpected, emergency trip back home. We need to assess the situation, sift through the rubble, salvage what we can and decide what we need to do next.
“We’ve been told that our condo is completely destroyed; a pile of ash. Fortunately, our two kitty cats, Stripes and Łobuz are safe. (Another Hamtramck connection is Łobuz the cat. He was a stray who walked into Al’s heart during his visit here. Al met all the State of Hawaii requirements in order to bring Łobuz to his new island home.)
“When we finally make it back, we have several friends on other parts of the island that we can stay with, but we can’t live with them forever. These next few days are going to be a whirlwind of emotions and life changing decisions.
“The past two days have been hell; not knowing how bad the situation was. We were worried about our cats, our friends and our home. When we received the first notice of the fire, Lori and I were up for 48 hours; couldn’t sleep.
“We were walking zombies. At the time, our only communication with friends back home was by text. We still haven’t been able to reach any of our neighbors. Cell towers are down on the west shore. The power has been out for more than two days.
“(Current reports indicate that it may be up to 30 days before everyone on the west shore will have electricity restored.) I’m sure their nights were worse than ours.
“All of Front Street is gone. I’m a wreck! Our condo is gone. I don’t have a home to go back to. And to add insult to injury, I just booked work on Oahu the week of Thanksgiving. I’m going to be in Jacksonville the week before and I was using that as an opportunity to break up my trip on my way home. …
“Thank you for your prayers, love and concern. We are truly blessed by your friendship. You are appreciated more than I can express.
“My thoughts and prayers go out to our friends and Ohana on the islands. Give someone you love an extra hug today.”
As Al and Lori were boarding the plane in Los Angeles on their last leg to Maui, “FEMA officers and their cadaver searching dogs also boarded the plane on their way to help in the search effort of Lahaina residents. I was already sitting in my seat on the airplane. An officer was boarding with his dog. This wonderful, four-legged bundle of love jumped in the seat next to me.
“I felt his cold nose as he sniffed my face, and then he gave me a big doggy kiss on the cheek. I guess it was his way of reminding me that I’m still alive and for whatever I’ve lost I have so many things to be thankful for.”
So far, the Maui fire, which started as a simple brush fire but grew quickly and out of control within minutes because of 80-mile-per-hour winds from ‘Hurricane Dora,” which was 500 miles off the shores of Hawaii, has claimed 99 lives with an estimated 1,000 people still unaccounted for.
This is the deadliest fire in Hawaii in a century.
Friends of Al and Lori have set up a GoFundMe page to help with the financial needs in order to recover. You can contribute by going online to GoFundMe and type in Al Loha (Al’s Facebook nickname).
Because of biohazards, Al and Lori still haven’t been able to go to their home site in Lahaina.
Al said: “My head is spinning. I feel like I’m walking in a daze. My stomach is in knots. I pray and cry, pray and cry more. It’s business as usual on other parts of the island; a vacation paradise. On the south shore we had sun drenched blue skies.
“The palm trees swayed from the cool ocean breeze and only a 45-minute drive away, navigating along the breath-taking Pacific coast, just on the other side of the West Maui Mountains, death, destruction and heartbreak. Please pray for all those affected in Hawaii and their families.”
Posted Aug. 18, 2023