At least 36 people have been confirmed killed in the raging wildfires that have decimated entire Maui communities, according to news reports, in one of the deadliest U.S. wildfires in recent years.
The fire took the island by surprise, leaving behind burned-out cars on once busy streets and smoking piles of rubble where historic buildings had stood in Lahaina Town, which dates to the 1700s and has long been a favorite destination of tourists, the Associated Press reported.
Officials said that 271 structures were damaged or destroyed and dozens of people injured, and the county's emergency response is near a breaking point.
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Officials warned that the death toll in Hawaii could rise, with the fires still burning and teams spreading out to search charred areas.
Non-essential travel to Maui 'strongly discouraged' amid wildfires
Tourists were advised to stay away, and about 11,000 visitors flew out of Maui on Aug. 9, with at least another 1,500 expected to leave Aug. 10, according to Ed Sniffen, state transportation director. Officials prepared the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu to take in the thousands who have been displaced.
Roughly 14,500 customers in Maui were without power early Wednesday. With cell service and phone lines down in some areas, many people were struggling to check in with friends and family members living near the wildfires.
The fires were whipped by strong winds from Hurricane Dora passing far to the south. It’s the latest in a series of disasters caused by extreme weather around the globe this summer. Experts say climate change is increasing the likelihood of such events.
Aerial video from Lahaina showed dozens of homes and businesses razed, including on Front Street, where tourists once gathered to shop and dine. Smoking heaps of rubble lay piled high next to the waterfront, boats in the harbor were scorched, and gray smoke hovered over the leafless skeletons of charred trees.
“It’s horrifying. I’ve flown here 52 years and I’ve never seen anything come close to that,” Richard Olsten, a helicopter pilot for a tour company, told AP. “We had tears in our eyes.”
Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara, from the Hawaii State Department of Defense, told reporters that officials were working to get communications restored, to distribute water, and possibly adding law enforcement personnel. He said National Guard helicopters had dropped 150,000 gallons of water on the Maui fires.
The Coast Guard said it rescued 14 people who jumped into the water to escape flames and smoke, including two children.
“Local people have lost everything,” said James Kunane Tokioka, the state’s business, economic development and tourism director. “They’ve lost their house, they’ve lost their animals and it’s devastating.”
As the inferno raged, Twitter was filled with video footage of the fires.
"You can see how people are escaping from the water to escape the fires that are flooding Maui," one post reads. "Please leave us a comment and pray for their safety!"
You can see how people are escaping from the water to escape the fires that are flooding Maui. 😱 Please leave us a comment and pray for their safety!#MauiFire #Hawaii #LahainaFire #Fires #mcconnell #LilTay pic.twitter.com/HvSztJh3I8
— Lily (@irish_she08) August 9, 2023
"VIDEO FROM THE CAR PEOPLE ARE PASSING RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF MAUI THE FLAMES AND IT LOOKS LIKE HELL," another tweet reads as the video footage shows people driving through a burning landscape.
VIDEO FROM THE CAR PEOPLE ARE PASSING RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF MAUI THE FLAMES AND IT LOOKS LIKE HELL🔥#mauifire #Hawaii #Lahaina pic.twitter.com/McoZLDVYFB
— N3RO (@N3RONEWS) August 9, 2023
The video includes images of a woman face down on the ground.
"Oh, my God!" one person in the car says.
"We cannot do nothing for her," another passenger says.
The White House is "working very closely with Hawaii" National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications Jon Kirby said, according to CNN.
However, he came short of announcing the approval of an emergency declaration.
A White House official told CNN that Hawaii has asked for shelter supplies from FEMA, including water, food, cots, and blankets. FEMA Region 9 Administrator Bob Fenton and his team are in Oahu, and he has mobilized an Incident Management Assistance Team to help with the federal response, the official added.
President Joe Biden is "treating this with all the due gravity and the seriousness that the climate crisis deserves," Kirby said.
“Our prayers are with those who have seen their homes, businesses and communities destroyed,” Biden said in a statement.
A major fire on the Big Island in 2021 burned homes and forced thousands to evacuate. The Big Island is also currently seeing blazes.
