A Hawaiian man cycled 13 miles through a raging wildfire to save his grandmother.
28-year-old Pa’ele Kiakona went to amazing lengths to save his grandmother from the inferno. According to RedState:
“Pa’ele Kiakona, 28, traveled 13 miles through a torched hellscape on Aug. 8, in a frantic bid to save his beloved grandma who lived in the doomed town of Lahaina.
‘I was going as fast as I could, but the fire was coming really fast,’ Kiakona told The Post on Friday about the harrowing ride from his Honokohau Valley home to the beachfront town in which he was raised.
‘I almost fell over multiple times – the wind was just crazy,’ Kiakona said. ‘There were points where I felt I would give up, like I couldn’t make it.
‘But I felt as if God had his hand on my shoulder, pushing me, helping me.’”
This heroic grandson got to his grandma’s house and made sure she evacuated—with 30 minutes to spare.
“I got there and I told her, ‘You need to leave now,’” Kiakona said. “Luckily, my grandma had some tenants and they had a car, they packed their stuff and jumped in the car.”
The fires swept through less than a half-hour later, destroying his grandma’s home, he said.
“There was smoke in all directions – it was like something you’d see in a movie,” he said. “I could feel my legs building up with lactic acid, my lungs were heavy, my heart was pounding,” he said. “But I continued and pushed through it. Pure instinct took over – nothing was going to stop me from getting there to save my family.”
He got to the house and warned his grandma that she needed to leave immediately, and she was able to take off with the tenants.
“By the time we met (just outside Lahaina), their house was gone,” Kiakona said. “I got them out just in time.”
Today we honor 28-year-old Pa’ele Kiakona of Lahaina. This is what a #Hero looks like!!!
By the time he reached her house, it had burned, but thanks to his journey and a dirt bike ride from one of his cousins, Kiakona and his grandmother made it out of the blazes alive. pic.twitter.com/FKRoqVTzW6
— Brandon James (@IAMAVANGUARDIAN) August 25, 2023
