Kula fire survivor thanks Straub for their care upon her release

Kula fire survivor Judy McCorkle is just grateful — grateful to have recovered from second-degree burns, to be going home, and for the caring staff at Straub Medical Center.

On Wednesday, McCorkle was discharged from the Straub Burn Unit in Honolulu after 19 days, with plans to catch a flight back home to Maui with her husband to reunite with her dog, Winston.

She thanked the nurses and staff for all of their hard work and care. It was a very emotional day for her.

“I’ve been through some fairly intense life experiences,” she said. “This is probably among the most intense.”

McCorkle, 77, saw winds whipping flames toward the gulch behind her home nearly three weeks ago and told her husband, Tom Reed, they needed to get out of there.

They were able to grab some items from home and evacuate to a friend’s house in Kihei.

Upon returning, they were relieved to find their home had not burned.

As McCorkle was walking around surveying the property — she said three 70-foot-tall cypress pines had blown over — she stepped on what looked like solid soil. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a “hot spot,” or ash pit, which is created when fire consumes underground fuels such as tree roots, creating an empty space.

“As I took that step my foot sank into the hot spot, and then I realized what was happening, because it’s burning underneath, and it keeps burning,” she said.

It all happened within a matter of seconds, and she went into shock from the burns. A neighbor called 911, an ambulance arrived, and she was eventually transported to the Straub Burn Unit.

McCorkle suffered burns on the bottom of both of her feet and all of her toes, along with blisters from sand that covered the top of her feet.

With treatment and therapy, she is slowly able to walk again, and is expected to make a full recovery.

“I was very fortunate,” she said. “I don’t have nerve damage, and I did not have to have grafts.”

She admitted she felt foolish for having stepped into the hot spot, and warns others to be careful because there was no smoke or visible sign of what was beneath.

“The message I want to get out to people is hot spots are really, really dangerous,” she said.

The state Health Department has warned residents of various hazards upon returning to parts of Maui after fires. Among them are ash pits, described as holes full of hot ashes created by burned trees and stumps that can cause serious burns if one were to fall into them.

The process of healing from burns is not pretty, said McCorkle, and “there’s no painless way to get through it.”

Amy Chong, Straub Burn Unit coordinator, said the process of dressing changes, where wounds are washed, cleaned, and dressed, can take from 30 minutes to several hours, depending on the size of the burn.

She called McCorkle a star patient who endured many dressings and a lot of pain, but always remained positive and in good spirits.

A total of 19 homes were destroyed in the Upcountry wildfires that began Aug. 8, according to Maui County, including 16 in Kula and three in Olinda. McCorkle said two of her neighbors by the top of the gulch lost their homes.

McCorkle, a former Peace Corps volunteer who taught elementary school in Micronesia, found solace in doing something positive while at the hospital.

She teamed up with a friend to start a fund in support of Maui patients and the Burn Unit via the Straub Foundation. The Burn Unit, established in 1983, is the only burn center in Hawaii and the Pacific region.

The Straub Burn Unit has treated a total of nine patients from the Maui fires — the most patients ever admitted to the unit from one event. The patients have suffered second- and third-degree burns covering between 10% to 70% of total body surface areas. All are adults.

Due to patient confidentiality, Straub could not share more details or updates on the status of other Maui patients.

Instead of flowers and cards, McCorkle requested family and friends donate to the Straub Burn Unit fund in her name, which is available at www.Give2Straub.org. Already, the fund has raised $77,500, she said.