Ava Robinson, a senior at Phoenix High School, works on a banner Tuesday for the PHS leadership team's "Lahaina Love" fundraising campaign. 

When fire raged through the community of Lahaina on Aug. 8, destroying more than 2,000 buildings and killing at least 97 people on the northwest coast of Maui, news reports of the devastation gave some Phoenix High School students a dreaded sense of déjà vu.

The images that came from the moments during and after the Lahaina Fire — buildings engulfed in flames and cars lining evacuation routes — were reminiscent of images captured in 2020, when the Almeda Fire destroyed more than 2,500 homes, burned 3,200 acres and killed three people. Parts of Ashland, Talent and Phoenix were wiped out by the flames.

Many of the families in Southern Oregon impacted by the fire are still recovering, but a sense of community prompted leadership students at Phoenix High to rally around their teen counterparts on Maui.

Students at Lahainaluna High School returned to classes Monday, more than two months after the fire, after health department officials conducted extensive soil, water testing and air quality testing due to the school’s close proximity to the burn zone.

Many of the school’s students were displaced by the fire, a too-familiar scenario for students in the Phoenix-Talent School District. All told, more than a third of students lost their homes during the Almeda Fire, and countless more were displaced.

Phoenix High junior Javier Quintana, who spearheaded the idea for the “Lahaina Love” fundraiser, remembers helping friends and neighbors suddenly rendered homeless, living in hotels and RV parks. As soon as leadership teacher Lisa Robin, who lost her home to the Almeda Fire, suggested fundraising for Lahaina students, Quintana took the lead.

“I didn’t lose my house, but I helped a lot of people who did and who are really close to me. It was one neighborhood away from us, which was really scary,” said the 16-year-old.

“When I heard of the (Lahaina) fire… I felt like we were just there, in the same situation. How was this happening again? It just makes you realize how quickly something can happen … something you never could have imagined, just like it happened here.”

Quintana said students were already out of their usual environment due to remote learning during the pandemic when the Almeda Fire uprooted the lives of much of the Phoenix-Talent community.

“It was during COVID, so we were already going all over the place, not really in school. For a lot of people, they already didn’t have that one place that they could get their education and feel safe, then seeing that place you knew as your home suddenly turned to ashes …” he said.

“I think what most of us took away from all that was just how the community all helped each other and how we were there for each other. It was the only thing we knew to do.”

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“When I heard about the fire in Hawaii, I felt compassion for them. I really felt, because I know what it’s like to lose a home, I could relate to them.”

— Phoenix High School freshman Stephanie Rodriguez, 14, whose family was displaced for more than a year after the Almeda Fire

Freshman Stephanie Rodriguez, 14, whose family was displaced for more than a year after the Almeda Fire, remembers feelings of uncertainty and loss, but also the community support that followed.

“When I heard about the fire in Hawaii, I felt compassion for them. I really felt, because I know what it’s like to lose a home, I could relate to them,” she said.

Rodriguez said she’s hopeful to show Lahaina students, “that you can still push forward and that things are going to be OK.”

“We want them to know that we’re here and we’re going to help them, because we know what it’s like. We just really want (Lahaina) students to know they can still push ahead in life and not be stuck because of a tragedy,” she said.

Working on posters and fundraising materials in the school library on Wednesday, Omar Cervantes, a sophomore, remembered evacuating from his mom’s house, then from his dad’s house, taking just a phone, phone charger and change of clothes, figuring, “I’ll be back in a day or two.”

A new seventh-grader at the time of the fire, Cervantes initially left his dog behind.

“When we realized how serious it was, we went back to get my dog. The streets were packed with cars trying to get out. … I remember seeing a wave of fire just push all throughout the city,” said the 15-year-old.

“As a kid, it was so scary to see something just suddenly consume your entire town. It’s still really sad to think about. It really breaks a person down, because you see everything you experienced when you were growing up, suddenly all burned down and in piles of ash all over the city.”

Cervantes said it was sobering to have a connection with students in Maui because of life-changing tragedy.

“When I saw the Hawaii fires, I was really distraught. I know what it’s like seeing everything you love just burned down and feeling like, ‘What am I gonna do now when everything I have is gone?’” he said.

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“What we’re really trying to do is be a helping hand for this other school. … I remember going to these get-togethers, where they were donating stuff to help us. I remember I got my first pair of sneakers (after the fire) donated to me, and I remember feeling so thankful. … Seeing what happened in Lahaina, I want to be that light in the darkness for those students.”

— Phoenix High School sophomore Omar Cervantes, 15

“What we’re really trying to do is be a helping hand for this other school. … I remember going to these get-togethers, where they were donating stuff to help us. I remember I got my first pair of sneakers (after the fire) donated to me, and I remember feeling so thankful. … Seeing what happened in Lahaina, I want to be that light in the darkness for those students.”

PHS senior and student body president Brianna Gaal said she hoped fundraising efforts would be successful. Gaal remembers evacuating with pets and her baby brother, feeling a sense of heartbreak for fellow students.

“Me and my mom were fortunate to not lose our house. I remember, every weekend, we were at the fire relief center trying to help. There were so many people affected, it was just devastating,” Gaal said.

“Seeing all these homes and everything lost was really hard, but when you are there, and you meet and talk to the people … the biggest light of all was the way that our whole entire community came together like we never had before. That’s why we’re doing this fundraiser. We understand how it feels so see so much devastation… and we know how important it is for everyone to come together.”

Phoenix High leadership students will sell Hawaiian food plates to raise money for students impacted by the Aug. 8 Lahaina Fire in Maui. Hawaiian food plates prepared by culinary students will be available following a Wednesday, Oct. 25, homecoming parade through downtown Phoenix. Meals will be available at the high school, 745 N. Rose St. The event is open to the community.

A Kona Ice Truck will be on hand, selling drinks. “Lahaina Love” T-shirts will be available for sale.

During the Friday, Oct. 27, Phoenix Pirates football game at the school, a “miracle minute” cash collection will take place during halftime. Cash and checks (payable to “Lahaina Relief”) will be accepted. Cash or checks can also be dropped off at Phoenix High or mailed to: Phoenix High School, P.O. Box, 697, Phoenix, 97535.