California welder moved to Maui for brand spanking new job 2 days earlier than catastrophe struck
Matt Mattera had simply moved from San Pedro to Maui on Sunday, Aug. 6, the place a brand new job at a chassis restore store awaited the 29-year-old welder.
He had lined up 4 roommates — all strangers — who can be sharing a home in Maui that had been organized via a household actual property pal.
All appeared effective shortly after he’d arrived.
“He’d gone to Costco to get a mattress and a TV set,” his mom, San Pedro resident Susan Mattera, stated. “That was the final communication I had with him just a few days in the past.”
Then, the unthinkable occurred.
On Tuesday, Aug. 8, a wind-whipped fireplace swept via the beloved coastal vacationer spot, destroying practically every part in its path.
Susan Mattera known as her son. His mobile phone went straight to voicemail.
“Each time I turned the TV on, it appeared like a struggle zone,” Susan Mattera stated. “I’d simply begin crying, ‘The place’s my child?’”
AT&T informed her they did spot exercise on his cellphone, which offered a glimmer of hope.
Lastly, he despatched a textual content message that bought via in the course of the evening:
“I’m effective, I’m OK.”
The youthful Mattera’s rental home was in an space that was not hit by the flames, he stated.
Whereas additional communication broke down, his mom heard what she wanted to listen to.
That’s a consolation many different households at present don’t have.
The fireplace’s demise toll stood at 96, as of Monday, Aug. 14. However Hawaii’s governor additionally warned that scores extra folks could possibly be discovered useless as search crews undergo torched neighborhoods. About 1,300 folks stay lacking, Gov. Josh Inexperienced informed “CBS Mornings” in a recorded interview that aired Monday.
“They’ll discover 10 to twenty folks per day, in all probability, till they end,” he stated. “And it’s in all probability going to take 10 days. It’s unattainable to guess, actually.”
Mobile phone service is slowly being restored on Maui.
And Matt Mattera’s youthful sister has since talked briefly with him (whereas the connection held), their mom stated, and he informed her of the devastation and deaths he was witnessing throughout him. He and his roommates had been protected, however with out entry to meals or water.
Calls had been troublesome, although they might get “one bar” on their telephones by strolling to the seaside, Susan Mattera stated.
When the devastation hit, she stated, “my cellphone was ringing off the hook and getting textual content messages” from family and friends questioning what she’d heard.
The Matteras are well-known within the port group.
Susan Mattera’s father opened Sorrento’s Restaurant in 1962 and, though the household bought it just lately, they’re a frequent and well-known presence on the eatery, on Western Avenue close to twenty fifth Avenue, which is famend for its pizza.
The youthful Mattera’s truck, in the meantime, is in a transport container someplace in the course of the ocean, Susan Mattera stated; associates had organized to have it shipped to his new dwelling however it hadn’t arrived when the devastation hit. Within the meantime, he nonetheless has a rental truck on the island that the corporate stated he can maintain till issues quiet down.
“(Matt) stated he’s going to remain” in Maui, his mom stated. He desires to do what he can, she stated, to assist in the restoration.
“He’s a robust child and he doesn’t run away from tragedies,” she stated. “He desires to assist. It’s simply heartbreaking.”
The Related Press contributed to this report.
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