Maui flames kill at least 6 people and damage houses.
KAHULUI,
Hawaii (AP) — In the dead of night, a wildfire ripped through the heart
of the Hawaiian island of Maui, burning most of a historic town to ash
and prompting residents to jump into the water to escape the flames. Six
people were killed, scores were injured, and 271 buildings were damaged
or destroyed.
The fires raged on Wednesday afternoon, fuelled by
strong gusts from Hurricane Dora, which passed well south of the
Hawaiian islands. Officials were concerned that the death toll might
climb.
"This is a deeply sombre day," Maui Mayor Richard Bissen
remarked. "The tragedy of losing any life is profound. As we mourn with
their families, we send prayers for comfort at this difficult time."
As
the winds eased, several aircraft resumed flying, allowing pilots to
see the full extent of the carnage. According to Mahina Martin, a Maui
County spokesman, flyovers over the seaside hamlet of Lahaina by the US
Civil Air Patrol and the Maui Fire Department revealed the magnitude of
the destruction.
Aerial footage showed scores of houses and
businesses in Lahaina destroyed, including on Front Street, a popular
shopping and dining destination for visitors. Smoking rubble mounds were
piled high along the shoreline, boats in the harbour were burnt, and
grey smoke lingered over the leafless carcasses of charred trees.
"It's
frightening. "I've been flying here for 52 years and I've never seen
anything like it," said Richard Olsten, a tour business helicopter
pilot. "We all had tears in our eyes, the other pilots on board, the
mechanics, and me."
Acting Gov. Sylvia Luke said the fires "wiped out communities," and she asked people to avoid the area.
"This is not a safe place to be," she declared.
According
to an update from the county, Maui officials asked guests to depart
Lahaina, and the island was organising a "mass bus evacuation" Wednesday
afternoon to take travellers directly to the airport.
According to the county, West Maui is still without mobile or landline phone service, as well as power.
According
to Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara, adjutant general for the Hawaii State
Department of Defence, a variety of conditions, including strong winds,
low humidity, and dry foliage, likely led to the conflagration. Climate
change, according to experts, is also increasing the chance of more
catastrophic weather.
"Climate change in many parts of the world
is increasing vegetation dryness, in large part because temperatures are
hotter," said Erica Fleishman, head of Oregon State University's Oregon
Climate Change Research Institute. "Even if you get the same amount of
precipitation, if you have higher temperatures, things dry out faster."
The
wind-driven blaze surged into the region at breakneck speed, scorching
across crossroads and jumping across wooden structures in the Lahaina
town centre, which dates from the 1700s and is listed on the National
Register of Historic Places.
"It was apocalyptic from what they
explained," Tiare Lawrence said of the 14 cousins and uncles who left
town and sought safety at her home in Pukalani, east of Lahaina.
Keeaumoku
Kapu, a Lahaina resident, was tying down loose artefacts in the wind at
the cultural centre he operates when his wife arrived Tuesday afternoon
and informed him they needed to flee. "Right at that time, things got
crazy, the wind started picking up," Kapu said, adding that they made it
out "in the nick of time."
They spotted flames and billowing
smoke two blocks distant. Kapu rushed into his pickup truck with his
wife and a buddy. "By the time we turned around, our building was
already on fire," he explained. "It was just that quick."
According
to Mahina Martin, a spokesman for Maui County, crews were battling
three fires on Maui: in Lahaina, south Maui's Kihei district, and the
rugged, inland areas known as Upcountry.
At least two houses were
burned Tuesday in the Upcountry village of Kula by a fire that covered
roughly 1.7 square miles (4.5 square kilometres), according to County of
Maui Mayor Richard Bissen Jr.
Mayor Mitch Roth said Wednesday
that there have been no reports of casualties or properties lost as a
result of three wildfires raging on Hawaii's Big Island. A few roof
flames were put out by firefighters.
The National Weather Service
said Hurricane Dora, which was moving to the south of the island chain
at a safe distance of 500 miles (805 km), was partially to blame for
gusts of more than 60 mph (97 kph) on Maui, knocking out electricity,
rattling houses, and stranding firefighting aircraft.
The Coast
Guard rescued 14 individuals, including two children, who had run into
the water to escape the fire and hazy conditions on Tuesday, according
to a county statement.
Six
people were killed in fires on Maui, but search and rescue activities
continued, and the number might grow, according to Bissen.
According
to Speedy Bailey, regional director for Hawaii Life Flight, an
air-ambulance firm, six patients were carried from Maui to the island of
Oahu on Tuesday night. Three of them got significant burns and were
transferred to the burn unit at Straub Medical Centre, he added. The
others were transferred to various hospitals in Honolulu. He claimed at
least 20 victims were brought to Maui Memorial Medical Centre.
A fireman on Maui was hospitalised in stable condition early Wednesday, according to authorities.
Luke
signed an emergency proclamation on behalf of Gov. Josh Green, who is
out of the country, and mobilised the Hawaii National Guard to help.
"We have overcrowded shelters in certain areas of Maui," Luke explained. "We do have resources that are being taxed."
In
a statement issued Wednesday evening, President Joe Biden stated that
he had directed "all available Federal assets" to assist Hawaii. The
Coast Guard and Navy, according to the president, are assisting with
response and rescue operations, while the Marines are supplying Black
Hawk aircraft to combat the fires.
There was no official tally of
the number of individuals who had fled, but officials claimed four
shelters were operational, sheltering 2,100 people.
According to
the county, Kahului Airport, Maui's primary airport, was housing 2,000
travellers whose flights had been cancelled or who had recently landed
on the island. Officials in Honolulu were preparing the Hawaii
Convention Centre to house up to 4,000 displaced visitors and residents.
"Local
people have lost everything," James Tokioka, Director of Business,
Economic Development, and Tourism, stated. "They've lost their house,
and their animals."
Former President Barack Obama, who was born
in Hawaii, said Wednesday evening on social media that it's difficult to
watch some of the pictures coming out of a place that means so much to
so many people.
"Michelle and I are thinking of everyone who has lost a loved one, or whose life has been turned upside down," he stated.
Kapu,
the proprietor of Lahaina's Na Aikane o Maui cultural centre, claimed
he and his wife didn't have time to prepare before being forced to
escape. "We had years and years and years of research material,
artefacts," he explained.
Alan Dickar, who ran the Vintage
European Posters gallery on Front Street in Lahaina for 23 years, said
he's not sure what's left of it. Dickar shot video of flames consuming
the main strip of stores and restaurants popular by visitors before
fleeing with three pals and two animals.
"Everything significant I owned burned down today," he explained.
According
to Lawrence, Lahaina is frequently considered of as a Maui tourist
town, yet "we have a very strong Hawaiian community."
"I'm simply
heartbroken." "Our memories are everywhere," she remarked. "Everyone
has a house. In the previous 12 hours, everyone's life have tragically
altered."
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