As soon as the road closed in Sunday's fire, the staff at the Hyatt Regency Maui swung into action to get some key guests to Kahului Airport - by flying them off the roof.
The guests were 22 Delta Airlines pilots and flight attendants. If they didn't get to the airport on time, planes due to leave for Los Angeles, Salt Lake City and Seattle would be grounded.
The call to Sunshine Helicopters came in just as the company was finishing its vacation tours for the day, according to spokesman Carl Duman. A pilot and operations manager hopped over to the Hyatt and began organizing the airlift.
Atop the resort's Lahaina Tower, which has a lounge used for nightly star-watching events, Executive Assistant Manager Claudia Wattenberg's staff stocked up cold water and snacks and began marshaling the Delta workers and their luggage as seats became available.
"We were the flight attendants," said Wattenberg, holding a cellular phone in one hand and signaling to a bus containing about 50 stranded cruise ship passengers with the other.
The ship passengers, who had come over to the west side for excursions, couldn't get back to their beds, so the hotel was putting them up.
It almost worked like a charm, but at sundown, one Delta crew member was still at the hotel, and Wattenberg was wondering whether the police could somehow help to shuttle the last one of the 22 over. If not, then the last flight of the night would stay put.
The copter could ferry six passengers at a time, and from 3 p.m. to sundown it shuttled back and forth. Darkness ended the trips.
"Sunshine was fantastic," said Wattenberg. "They were here within 30 minutes."
But, scores and probably hundreds of tourists were unable to take advantage of the helicopter escape route.
Wattenberg said the helipad is always ready to use, and private charter customers do use it, perhaps two or three times a month.
Duman says some Sunshine tour customers prefer to be picked up from the roof "rather than driving to Kahului."
* Harry Eagar can be reached at heagar@mauinews.com.
