'No warnings': Dream trip to Hawaii turns into nightmare for Chicago-area woman

CHICAGO - The death toll in Maui is now at 96 and is expected to keep climbing with an estimated 1,000 people still missing.

FOX 32 Chicago spoke with a local woman who escaped the hardest-hit part of the island on Thursday. 

"Nothing. No warnings. Nothing," said Linda Lambdin of Channahon, who was in Maui on vacation with her family.  "We were stuck on this resort for days without any outside communication to anybody."

Lambdin was vacationing at a resort just five minutes from downtown Lahaina when the wind picked up, the power went off, and they were left in the dark.  

"We slept through that fire," she said. "We slept with the doors open on our balcony because we had no air conditioning. The fire was just a few minutes away from us, it could have blown right through our door.  After seeing the footage, I realized how lucky we were."

Lambdin said her two daughters were at home watching the disaster unfold on television and were in "complete panic" not being able to get ahold of her.  

SUBSCRIBE TO FOX 32 ON YOUTUBE

Thursday evening, they evacuated by bus to take shelter at the airport, where she said locals provided food and blankets. This week, the Salvation Army is leading the effort to feed people on the island, providing 7,200 meals per day.

"We're coordinating with the hotels, the resorts, the restaurants and tourists that are leaving the airport as well," said Patrick McGinn, one of Salvation Army's Emergency Disaster Services Director.

The Salvation Army says the best way you can help out is financially. 

Your donations can help fund what is going to be a months-long relief effort. Twelve-hundred people are in shelters and countless others are sheltering in place at home right now. 

You can help by going to hawaii.salvationarmy.org.