When deadly fires torched the Hawaiian town of Lahaina, improvised groups of volunteers were some of the first to respond. In convoys of trucks, they raced to deliver supplies and were some of the first to witness the devastation in the place many of them called home.
Along an industrial road in Kahului, not far from Maui's northern shore, Auntie Lehua Kekahuna sat in the back office of a nondescript single storey building. A handful of men stood around her - tall and broad, half wore bright yellow construction vests, with dirt caked on their faces and under their nails. When Kekahuna spoke, they stayed quiet.
It was Tuesday, one week after a fast-moving fire tore through Lahaina, levelling most of the historic town and killing more than 100. In the last few days, efforts from local, state and federal agencies have come into focus - with hundreds of emergency personnel deployed and $2.3m (£1.81m) in assistance to families dispersed so far.