On the Big Island you have active volcanic activity and that can be a big danger, but fires like this I would not have expected on Maui. You would have limited fire support at first due to it being an island.
I've been to that town several times before. When i was younger and had braces something went wrong with them on the other side of the island and I had to go to a dentist in that town while I was visiting the island. Also on that island when really young, at high elevation, was the first place I was ever in snow.