WHITE LAKE, Mich. – For residents in Michigan, the images from the volcanic eruption might seem to be from another world. Many find it fascinating to see the earth spew lava. But it's not entertaining for Metro Detroit natives who moved to the island.
Pat and Jan Cronan are White Lake, Michigan, natives who moved to Hawaii. Now, their dream home is buried under 10 feet of lava. The retirees had to run for their lives after living on the big island for 25 years.
They had five minutes to evacuate.
Kiluea turned their lives upside down to the point where they need help.
Pat Cronan is in the early stages of dementia, and disruptions are already difficult. His daughter, Michele Cronan-Patrick, is doing all she can to take care of her parents.
"They basically grabbed some clothes, important paperwork they needed and a painted portrait of my younger brother who passed away," Cronan-Patrick said.
Cronan-Patrick lives just up the street and the volcano hasn't hit her house, but she had to rent a home for her parents.
"They haven't been able to see their property," she said. "They haven't been able to go back to the house. There's 10 feet of lava there."
Having lost everything in the home, the couple's plan is to have a space built for them in Cronan-Patrick's home. They don't have the money, so they started a GoFundMe page.
"It was mom's dream home," Cronan-Patrick said. "She took such pride. People, tourists would stop and were in awe. It was so pristine and they honored native plants."
Pat Cronan grew up in White Lake and went into the Seabees during Vietnam. He worked as a contractor in California and went to Hawaii in the 1970s to help rebuild after a hurricane. He never left.
The couple owned the house outright and volcano insurance is very expensive, so they didn't have any. The couple and 4,000 others are now homeless.
A GoFundMe campaign exists to help the family.