Papillion-La Vista High graduate 'lucky' despite losing almost everything

The 19-year-old has been left with just a car and the things in her purse after fires this week ravaged the town of Lahaina on the haina on the island of Maui, where she's been living the past seven months.

She lost her home; the furniture she'd just bought now ashes. The camera equipment she hoped to use to start a photography business is gone. So is her baby blanket, which had always provided comfort in tough times.

That hurt. But Pudenz feels lucky.

She didn't own her home, and the boutique where she worked is still standing, even though she may not be able to return for months.

"I feel bad for the local people," she said. "They can't just go back to Nebraska."

Pudenz doesn't know what her next steps will be. She spent the first night after the fire in Lahaina in her car, the second at the home of relatives and is now at their friend's house on the other side of the island, which is about the size of Rhode Island.

Shirts stored in the garage of Jim and Karleen Waters, her aunt and uncle, gave her and her friends a change of clothing. The couple's car had gas in it so they could move around to look for food. Her own car had run out.

Phone service was erratic even before the fires, and she wasn't able to connect with her parents, teachers Joe and Jenny Pudenz of Bellevue, until late Wednesday morning.

Even then, calls would break up after seconds. But it was an immense relief for them to make any kind of contact after seeing the fires on the news.

"We knew she was safe and alive and well and didn't know much more," Joe Pudenz said. "She was very shaken."

Sydney had lost cellphone use the afternoon of the fire because of the immense winds created by a nearby hurricane and didn't know that anything was wrong until she and two friends started driving toward home. The puff of fire in the distance kept growing larger, and they were finally turned back by the police.

"The smoke was insane and thick and dark," she said. "There were many families who were watching it and thought they could get out and they didn't."

Officials say at least 93 people have died in the fires on the island, which still aren't completely contained. A falling tree narrowly missed her friends' van, and another friend had to jump in the ocean off Front Street to escape the fire.

Since Tuesday, parking lots and streets in the area are filled with people living in their cars. Her group was able to find food at a school and restaurants have been sharing food before it spoils, since there is no power. They were turned away from using the restrooms at a shelter that was overflowing with now homeless residents.

Everything now requires cash.

Although she knew chances were slim that her home still stood, they tried to venture back to Lahaina to see what had happened to the neighborhood. It's closed off as rescuers search the area for victims.

"It's been really weird and eerie," she said.

The situation is much more normal on the other side of the island where she is now staying. There are stores where she can purchase clothing and the power is working. She has normal cellphone reception and food.