68-year-old Franklin Trejos is confirmed to be one of at least 101 victims of the recent wildfires that swept through Hawaii.

The death toll is still expected to rise.

Sam writes that he died in a desperate attempt to protect his three-year-old golden retriever NBC News.

Trejos is said to have been a longtime friend of Shannon Webber Bogar and her husband, Jeff Bogar. The three are said to have lived together at the couple’s home in Lahaina, Maui’s largest city, which was destroyed by fires.

Weber-Bogar told NBC that Trejos was the type of person who always stopped by to talk to everyone he knew.

– He was just the friendliest person you’ll ever meet, she tells the paper.

– Vision

The car didn’t start

As the flames began closing in on the neighborhood, Trejos and Bugar took it upon themselves to evacuate as many people as possible and then stayed behind to try to save the house.

A short time later they realized there was no chance and ran to their cars to get away, says Weber Bogar, who was out of town herself.

On the way to the car, Trejos allegedly grabbed Sam, the couple’s three-year-old golden retriever, whom he took as his own.

However, Bogar’s car did not start, so he ran for cover. His escape caused him several burns, according to his wife.

It was said that he returned the next day to look for his friend and the dog.

Inside Trejo’s car, Bogar finds his friend’s lifeless body on top of Sam’s.

– He must have realized what was about to happen and crawled into the cabin and lay down on it, says Weber Bogar, who adds that there were more dogs than Tregos.

reveals the grim truth

I waited to go up

The fires began on the Hawaiian island of Maui on the night of Tuesday, August 8 and have been described as the deadliest in the United States in more than 100 years.

In the city where Trejos and the Bujar couple lived, at least 2,700 structures were destroyed.

From evening to Wednesday Norwegian time, the governor of Maui confirmed that at least 101 deaths have been confirmed, but the death toll is expected to rise, and health risks may persist for a long time as a result of pollution in the air and drinking. water.

According to the NTB, Hawaii has the world’s most comprehensive warning system for natural disasters, but the siren should not sound when flames spread toward built-up areas. In addition, people were without electricity and mobile networks in several areas.