When the unprecedented Lahaina wildfire tore through Maui, Rebecca, a retired fire officer and fire investigator who had lived on the island for close to 18 years, was hundreds of miles away—helping with contract fire services at her old department, sitting at Fire Station #9 in Redwood City, CA. The moment her colleagues told her a fire had sparked on Maui, she knew it wasn’t going to be just another call. But nothing prepared her for what she would eventually return home to.
“It wasn’t a fire,” she recalled in the video. “It was like a bomb hit.”
Rebecca’s home, once filled with memories and the familiar warmth of island life, was reduced to ash. Despite years of experience dealing with fires, she found herself overwhelmed as she stepped onto her property for the first time after the disaster. “I thought I could sift through like I had done professionally so many times,” she said. “But when I saw it… I knew there was nothing to find.”
The only thing she searched for was her late dog’s ashes.
In the days that followed, uncertainty became the defining emotion for thousands of Maui residents just like her. But in that uncertainty, Rebecca found something she didn’t expect: a team that treated her not as a case number, but as family.
She connected with Bridgford, Gleason & Artinian (BGA), a law firm with extensive experience in wildfire claims, and immediately felt a shift. “Ohana means family—and BGA, they are ohana,” she said. “Everybody is just there for you, for whatever you need.”
For Rebecca, the most important gift BGA gave her was clarity. They explained the process, the timeline, and what she could realistically expect. They guided her step by step, allowing her to focus not on paperwork or legal procedures, but on beginning her life again. “I’ve never been on this side of fire event, I’ve always been the one responding, not on the survivor side.”
Today, her new home is now finally completed—a milestone she once wasn’t sure she’d reach. And the first post-fire home on historic Front Street.
“Because of the support I received from BGA, I could focus on what was important, my rebuild. They’re in it with you,” she said. “They’ve been with me every step of the way. And now… this is a new chapter.”
For Rebecca, the loss was unimaginable. But the journey forward, supported by people who cared deeply, has become a testament to hope rising from devastation.
Now, Bridgford, Gleason and Artinian continue to fight for the rights of wildfire survivors, representing hundreds of families affected by the 2025 Eaton Wildfires that devastated thousands of Californians.
For more, click here: https://www.bridgfordlaw.com/
