Couple now living in Brevard thankful to be alive after escaping Maui wildfires, losing everything
Ngoc Mai and Chris Bilotta are now living in Brevard
By Gracee Mattiace
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BREVARD, North Carolina (WLOS) — A man who escaped the Lahaina wildfires is starting a new life in Brevard after everything he had was destroyed.
Chris Bilotta and his wife, Ngoc Mai Bilotta, were packing for a trip to Brevard to check out the area before they moved permanently.
He said he was thankful to have their suitcases packed on Aug. 8 when the fires began.
“I could see a big cloud of smoke coming our way, and then I heard the gas station blow up and then cars were blowing up,” Bilotta said. “That’s when I went up to get my wife and I said, ‘Let’s get the hell out of here.'”
He took photos a few days after the fires when he was able to return home.
They lived on the second story of the apartment building that’s now leveled to the ground.
His wife’s car was completely destroyed.
He said the fire was so hot it melted other vehicles and incinerated his fire safe.
Bilotta said they did not know anyone who died or got hurt in the fire, but they did know friends who just barely escaped by jumping into the ocean.
“Most of the people I know, they lost their homes, they lost their apartments, but they got out in time — but some of them barely,” Bilotta said.
“The only way they could survive was by jumping in the ocean. And that’s what they did,” he said.
Bilotta had lived on Maui for more than 20 years and is now staying with friends in Brevard. He said it’s a temporary solution, but that he and his wife are thankful for their support as they start a new chapter in life.
“We both feel really bad about what happened and the people that were lost; there’s just not much we can do about it right now,” Bilotta said.
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