On the morning of Aug. 7, Michael Loudermilk’s home in Lahaina, Hawaii, lost power due to dangerously high winds and raging wildfires that toppled power lines on the idyllic island of Maui.

It was a Monday. Many businesses closed. Classes at schools were canceled. No one expected what would transpire over the next 24 hours.

“We had no idea,” the 37-year-old Schererville native told me. “We didn’t think it was going to be a big deal. We’re on an island in the middle of the Pacific. We lose power sometimes.”

Typically, when a storm or hurricane is predicted to hit the island, residents have time to prepare by securing businesses, moving boats offshore and hunkering down until the crisis passes.

“We did none of this that day. The best we could do was prepare for being without electricity for a while,” Loudermilk said.

The ominous incident in his neighborhood foreshadowed what would happen soon to the historic tourist town. Later that day, the winds picked up to 80 mph, fueling wildfires from the West Maui Mountains. The wind-whipped flames headed straight for Lahaina, a charming coastal town with a population of 13,000 on the west side of the island.

“That’s when things started getting rough,” said Loudermilk, a 2005 Lake Central High School graduate.

‘Evacuate!’

Loudermilk and his neighbors were told the word they prayed not to hear: “Evacuate!”

“But the evacuation was difficult because we couldn’t get out of town,” he said.

Downed power lines blocked exit roads, including Front Street which runs along the coast, creating a traffic nightmare, then panic, then chaos.

Loudermilk prepared a backpack of supplies and valuables to take with him for the evacuation. He went to check on the home of a friend who has a wife and two young kids.

“We thought we were in the clear and the wildfire passed us,” he said. “But then the winds shifted and headed toward our location. There was no water in the fire hydrants so there was nothing to do but let it burn.”

It burned into the deadliest wildfire in modern U.S. history.

Loudermilk’s wife, Aleksandra, was not in Lahaina at the time. She was in Serbia, her homeland, visiting her family. Her husband was planning on joining her later for their long-planned vacation to Europe.

“Thank God she wasn’t here,” Loudermilk said. “It would have broke her heart to see it.”

Loudermilk and his wife moved to Hawaii seven years ago after living in Alaska for three years. He works in the restaurant hospitality industry as a general manager for Southern Aloha Hospitality. She works in the hotel hospitality industry as assistant director of operations for Hyatt. Their careers went together like a knife and fork, especially in Lahaina where tourism sets the table for the island’s primary revenue.

Maui is an extremely expensive place to live.

“It’s the most beautiful place in the world, with the most beautiful beaches,” Loudermilk said.

Surfing, sailing, hiking, fishing, camping, snorkeling, scuba diving, sunset cruises and so much more.

“You just fall in love with it all,” Loudermilk said. “I never thought we’d leave. Lahaina was home.”

Until Aug. 8, when their home became an inferno.

‘It’s terrifying’

“It was all taken away from us in a matter of hours,” Loudermilk said. “Lahaina was unfortunately made mostly of wood. Exactly what you don’t want for a wildfire. It’s like what you see in the movies, as if a freight train is coming your way. I can attest to it.”

As the wildfire consumed land at a mile a minute, explosions went off along the way. Car tires. Gas cans. Abandoned cars. Neighbors’ homes. Nothing was spared. Everything was incinerated.

“It’s terrifying,” he said.

Lahaina, Hawaii wildfire victim from Region shares his story: 'We lost everything' “We thought we were in the clear and the wildfire passed us,” Michael Loudermilk said. “But then the winds shifted and headed toward our locat…

Loudermilk works as a general manager for two eateries in this company, Down the Hatch and Breakwall Shave Ice Co., located next to each other in downtown Lahaina across from the 150-year-old banyan tree, which somehow survived the wildfires.

“There’s nothing left of those businesses now,” Loudermilk said. “Absolutely nothing.”

By nightfall of that day, vehicles were torched, heat was oppressive and smoke choked survivors, who ran for the ocean. Many families didn’t make it, huddling together before being incinerated together.

“A lot of the victims’ bodies will be children,” Loudermilk said. “But they’re not reporting that yet.”

Because school classes were cancelled, all the kids were home or outside playing.

“So they were unable to evacuate properly,” he said. “They didn’t know better. They’re just kids.”

Lahaina, Hawaii wildfire victim from Region shares his story: 'We lost everything' “It was all taken away from us in a matter of hours,” Michael Loudermilk said. “Lahaina was unfortunately made mostly of wood. Exactly what yo…

He and his friend got picked up by firefighters who dropped them off at an evacuation site. The fires intensified, causing that evacuation site to close down.

“So we just sat on the side of the road until a friend picked us up,” Loudermilk said.

They had no cell phone service. No online alerts. And no idea what was happening elsewhere on the island.

“There was no power. Everyone is running out of gas. And stores are closed so you can’t get any food,” Loudermilk said. “Everyone is freaking out, trying to figure out what to do. We were all afraid we would get stuck on the north side of the island without what we need to survive.”

They searched for his friend’s wife and two kids who evacuated earlier, with no success. Eight hours later, they passed each other in separate vehicles on a road. They made a U-turn to reunite with them.

“They were looking for us, we were looking for them,” Loudermilk said.

Lahaina, Hawaii wildfire victim from Region shares his story: 'We lost everything' Michael Loudermilk and his neighbors were told the word they prayed not to hear: “Evacuate!” “But the evacuation was difficult because we coul…

‘Everything is gone’

Together, they drove to the other side of the island, through their neighborhood out of curiosity. (View more photos at the online version of this column.)

“There was nothing left to see,” Loudermilk said. “But the other side of the island looked completely normal, mostly untouched.”

“The people of Maui have really come together to help each other. We took care of our own. I’ve seen amazing gestures of kindness and community like nothing I’ve ever seen before,” he said.

The company he works for has created a GoFundMe page (GoFund.Me/40590304) for the 200 or so employees who lost everything, including their cars, homes and plans. Donations are welcomed.

“In the days since we started this GoFundMe we realize that the people of Lahaina will need the support of the world for months, and most likely years to come,” the webpage states.

“My situation is better than most others. I have family and friends and a very good support system here,” Loudermilk said. “But I can’t say the same for everyone else on the island.”

Loudermilk made a crucial mistake by forgetting to take his backpack from his friend’s home before the evacuation orders. He left the airport in Hawaii with $60, a paper ID and a Walmart bag with an extra pair of shoes.

“Everything else is gone,” he said.

Lahaina, Hawaii wildfire victim from Region shares his story: 'We lost everything' Michael Loudermilk and his neighbors were told the word they prayed not to hear: “Evacuate!” “But the evacuation was difficult because we coul…

He didn’t realize everything he lost until he had time to process it. Clothes. Tools. Furniture. Documents. Sentimental items. Scuba, snorkeling and fishing gear. Only charred remains are left, as if their life there was cremated.

“It’s nice to come home and see my family, but I didn’t want to come under these circumstances. It feels like (expletive) coming home with nothing,” he said.

His parents live in Schererville, his grandfather in Valparaiso, his friends across our Region.

“I’m absolutely leaning on family and friends since I returned here,” he said.

He plans to return to Maui to figure out his future after his wife returns from Serbia.

“We can start over in Maui, but at this point we’re better off staying in Northwest Indiana and regrouping to see what we should do,” Loudermilk said. “Right now, I want to help the people of Maui the best I can.”

Photos: After Maui wildfire, islanders survey aftermath and look ahead to recovery