Colorado Springs woman seeks help for her sister who lost everything in Maui fire

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- A Colorado Springs family is rallying support to send to their sister, wrestling with loss in the wake of the Lahaina fire.

Amanda Allen Leader, a Colorado Springs resident, explained the panic her family felt as they tried to get in contact with her sister living in Lahaina.

Amanda's sister Airica has lived in Maui for 12 years and in Lahaina for the past 5 years.

As a tight-knit family, Amanda said she speaks with her sister often. However, as Amanda and her parents started to see reports roll in on the devastating fire burning through the place Airica lived, they struggled for nearly 24 hours to reach her.

"As soon as I picked up the phone, she was pretty hysterical," said Amanda. "She obviously knew that we had all been trying to reach her, and, you know, she was just like, 'I'm safe, I'm safe, I'm safe.' You could definitely hear in her voice that whatever she had just gone through was pretty traumatic, and she had been in fight or flight mode for a good little while."

Amanda continued to talk with Airica and learned she lost her car and place of employment, and it's still unclear if she will have a place to live.

If you'd like to help Airica as she navigates life after the Lahaina fire, you can donate here at this verified fundraiser.

A group from Colorado Springs is also working to gather supplies for Maui. You can help here in this Facebook group.