North Texans helping those impacted by Hawaii wildfire
Sadly, the death toll continues to climb as crews search the areas damaged by wildfire in Hawaii.
Rescuers continue to search for those missing in the town of Lahaina, which was wiped out by the historic fires.
North Texans are stepping up to help.
At Pineapple Grill in Hurst, they're serving up Hawaiian comfort food to hungry customers.
The owners have family in Maui, and when they learned about the extent of the fire damage in historic Lahaina, they were determined to help from a far.
"Being all the way in Texas, we feel hopeless. Do our part and spread the word. Use Pineapple Grill as a platform to get the word out there and say, you know, that Maui needs our help," said Barry Uyehara, owner of Pineapple Grill.
They're hosting a fundraiser at the Midcities Montessori gymnasium in Bedford Sunday, with live entertainment, hula dancers, a silent auction, and raffle.
All of the proceeds will go directly to seven families in Maui who have relatives in North Texas.
"What we've been hearing from our relatives is not what we've been seeing on TV or anything like that, and it's actually a lot worse," Uyehara said.
Texas Baptist Men is working with its non-profit partners in Maui to help the hundreds of residents displaced from the fire.
"And this is a massive situation, so we want to help out," said John Hall, with Texas Baptist Men. "I know it's been several days on the news already, but we're still very early in this relief process. We're still meeting basic critical needs on the ground and we don't we expect to be doing that for quite a while."
Things like food, water, baby food, and diapers are being stored in an area church that survived the inferno.
Texas Baptist Men sending help to Maui wildfire victims
Texas Baptist Men says it’s working with partner organizations on getting things like water, food and clothes to those in need. The group hopes to send in its trained volunteers to help with disaster recovery as soon as possible.
As of Thursday morning, more than a third of the burned area has been searched.
Dozens of K-9s from across the country remain on scene, combing through the rubble of what used to be homes and businesses.
Additional teams are deploying to support crews who have been working around the clock.
Hawaiian officials estimate more than 1,000 people are still missing.
It's a grim reality that breaks the hearts of those in Hawaii and across the country.
"I just pray that everyone has a heart and helps everybody in Maui," one Hawaiian said.
Texas Baptist Men said they'll help residents in the clean-up and rebuilding process, but that's weeks away.