Married Maui boat captains to compete on NBC game show ‘The Wall’; Lahaina wildfire water rescues recalled

Married Maui boat captains Chrissy Lovitt and Emma Nelson, who used their vessel to pull fire survivors from the water during the Aug. 8, 2023, Lahaina wildfire, are being featured as contestants on NBC’s game show “The Wall,” where they will share their story with a national audience while competing for a cash prize of up to $12 million.

Lovitt and Nelson, who are married and both hold boat captain’s licenses, run a charter tour business in Hawaiʻi. According to NBC promotional materials, the couple personally rescued eight people from the water during the fire and assisted the US Coast Guard in evacuating others who had gathered at Lahaina Harbor to escape the flames. They also opened their home to survivors in the weeks that followed.

A video segment produced for the show recounts the day in more detail: as the fire closed in, the pair heard the Coast Guard broadcasting over marine radio Channel 16 that 50 to 100 people in the water needed help. Lovitt and Nelson said they didn’t hesitate to respond, even as land-based first responders were themselves trapped by the blaze.

“The water was on fire, and through the smoke, we saw a little SOS light,” Lovitt recalled in the segment.

Nelson physically pulled two children from the water and brought them to a Coast Guard vessel, according to the segment; in that portion of the rescue effort, the couple is described as saving two children and six adults who had jumped into the harbor to escape the flames.

The couple lost their boat tour business in the fire. “We watched our future, our dreams, our business burn up,” Lovitt said. “But you know, living in Hawaiʻi, you just help people out. That’s just what you do.”

Now the couple is hoping to turn their story into a financial lifeline by taking on “The Wall,” which gives paired contestants the chance to win up to $12 million by answering trivia questions correctly to send balls falling down a four-story wall.

The Maui couple’s episode of “The Wall” will be televised at 10 p.m. Monday in Hawaiʻi, after American Ninja Warrior. It will also stream the next day on Peacock.