Days following the catastrophic wildfires that have swept across Maui, Hawaii, Stevie Nicks expressed her sadness over the devastation and fears for her family on the island.
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“As I am sure you have heard, the island, Maui, where I own a house I have been staying at since the ’80s, and the small village, city, most magical place on earth, Lahaina, burned to the ground over the last few days,” wrote Nicks in a lengthy post on Instagram. “And to make the situation worse my young niece, her husband, and their little boy had just arrived for a very needed vacation before she started up her school year (on her way to becoming a psychologist) for 10 days. They had one and a half days of fun, and then the fire started.”
Nicks continued: “The power went out at 5:12am (Tuesday morning) but they had no idea why. It was still out at noon, realizing that many surrounding houses had also lost power. It was a mystery. My house is 15 to 20 minutes from Lahaina – but still no one knew about the fire. We knew here in Houston, but there was no way to get Jessi (my niece) on the phone. The entire area of Lahaina and everything around it was down. But here in Houston, we knew.”
In her letter, Nicks went on to say that the island of Maui “defines Fleetwood Mac” and their families.
“There was no way to know that this amazing town that had survived so much for so long would burn down and disappear into the history books, leaving so much sadness, destruction, and death behind it in its wake,” shared Nicks. “This island, in so many ways, defines Fleetwood Mac and me and our families.”
[RELATED: Mick Fleetwood “Heartbroken” after Wildfire Destroys His Hawaii Restaurant]
She also shared a special story about when she and Mick Fleetwood first went to the island in 1978. “Mick [Fleetwood] and I came here in 1978, went up to Kula to look at a huge, beautiful house and stood in front of it listening to the gentle magical wind,” said Nicks. “He said to me, ‘I will live and die on this island.’ I knew he was telling the truth. John [McVie] also lived here in Maui for a long time – Christine [McVie] never lived here but visited many times.”
She continued, “My truth was that I wanted a house here just so I could spend time in Lahaina walking the streets; visiting the art galleries – sitting on the rock wall – Most all the opals I wear on my fingers came from a store on Front Street. I hope the sweet lady who owned that store was able to grab all her opals and run. I hope she made it out.”
Now considered the deadliest in modern U.S. history, at least 93 people have been reported dead following the fires, which were spread by strong winds from category 4 Hurricane Dora that passed through the southern parts of the island chain and through Lahaina and parts of Maui on Tuesday (August 8).
Nicks’ statement comes days after Mick Fleetwood, who lives the majority of the year on the island, revealed that his restaurant Fleetwood’s on Front Street was destroyed.
“Maui and the Lahaina community have been my home for several decades,” wrote Fleetwood on his social media pages. “This is a devastating moment for Maui and many are suffering unimaginable loss.
Fleetwoods on Front Street has been lost and while we are heartbroken our main priority is the safety of our dear staff and team members.”
He added, “On behalf of myself and my family I share my heartfelt thoughts and prayers for the people of Maui. We are committed to supporting the community and those affected by this disaster in the days month and years to come.”
(Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Billy Joel & Stevie Nicks)
