Wildfires are roaring through Hawaii’s historic Lahaina
The death toll in Maui, Hawaii has reached 93 as the devastating wildfires become the deadliest in modern US history.
The fires on the island are now the country’s worst in terms of casualties in more than a century, while authorities warn that the effort to find and identify the dead is still in its early stages, because crews with cadaver dogs covered only 3 percent. in the search area.
“This is definitely the worst natural disaster Hawaii has ever faced,” Gov. Josh Green said Saturday as he toured the devastation in Lahaina.
The newly released death toll exceeds the 2018 Camp Fire in northern California, which left 85 dead and devastated the town of Paradise.
At least two other fires – in the southern part of Kihei on Maui and in mountainous, inland communities known as the Upcountry – are burning on the island, with no deaths reported so far.
Many fire survivors said they didn’t hear any sirens or receive a warning, only knowing they were in danger when they saw flames or heard explosions. Officials are sending out alerts but widespread power and cellular outages may limit their reach.
Maui wildfires ‘worst natural disaster Hawaii has ever faced’
As the death toll from the Maui fires reached 93 early Sunday, Governor Josh Green called it “the worst natural disaster Hawaii has ever faced”.
The extent of the damage came into sharper focus Saturday, four days after a raging fire ripped through the historic resort town of Lahaina, wiping out buildings and melting cars.
Expressing shock at the scale of the devastation, Mr Green said: “We can only wait and support the survivors. Our focus now is to reunite people if we can and give them homes and give them they get health care, and then go back to rebuilding.”
Tara Cobham13 August 2023 10:47
At least 93 people have been killed in wildfires in Hawaii
The death toll from the devastating wildfires in Hawaii has reached 93.
Maui County announced the updated death toll for its island on Sunday morning.
Tara Cobham13 August 2023 09:45
Others wait in pain to be contacted while searching for the lost. And then the phone rang.
Leshia Wright heard the roar of the fast-moving inferno closing in on her Lahaina home and decided it was time to evacuate.
The 66-year-old grabbed his lung medicine and his passport and fled the subdivision in the historic Hawaiian oceanfront community just minutes before the fire engulfed the neighborhood. A few hours later, he called family members and told them that he was sleeping in his car.
Then his phone died…
Oliver O’ConnellAugust 13, 2023 11:30
When communication failed, chaos spread across Lahaina along with flames
In the hours before a wildfire engulfed the town of Lahaina, Maui County officials failed to activate sirens that warned the entire population of approaching flames and instead relied on a series of sometimes confusing social media posts that reach a much smaller audience.
Power and cellular outages for residents further hampered communication efforts. Radio reports were scarce, some survivors reported, even as the fire began to burn through the town. Road blocks then forced drivers to flee to a narrow downtown street, creating a bottleneck quickly surrounded by flames on all sides.
Oliver O’Connell13 August 2023 10:45
Where in Maui are the wildfires?
Oliver O’Connell13 August 2023 10:00
Jason Momoa has issued a stern warning to holidaymakers traveling to Maui
Jason Momoa issued a stern message to holidaymakers hoping to still travel to Maui amid the deadly wildfires.
Two days after sharing his “heartache” over the fires ravaging the island of Hawaii, Momoa shared a post saying: “Maui is not your vacation spot right now. DON’T GO IN MAUI.”
Jacob Stolworthy reports.
Oliver O’Connell13 August 2023 09:00
Stevie Nicks shares a moving tribute to the Hawaii town that was reduced to ashes by wildfires
Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks posted a long tribute on Instagram to Lahaina, the Maui town most affected by the ongoing wildfire.
Nicks wrote that he owns a house on Maui far from the city, and called Lahaina “the most amazing place on earth”.
He captioned the tribute: “Lahaina is not lost ~ It’s just a long way away.”
Adam Withnall13 August 2023 08:15
Hawaii newlyweds detail ‘heartbreaking’ escape from Maui wildfires
A newlywed couple who married in Hawaii detailed their “heartbreaking” escape from the Maui wildfires. Cindy and Bob Curler didn’t expect to spend their wedding night sharing a sofa in a garage, but that’s what happened when they were unable to return to their hotel in Lahaina on Tuesday, August 8, because they were engulfed by the town is on fire. Their driver was forced to take them to the place where he parked his limousine, with Cindy still wearing her strapless lace gown, and Bob in his crisp blue suit. “It hurt us more to see what the town is like and what the locals are dealing with,” said Cindy after the experience. “Yes, it was our wedding day and night, but that was just one night for us where these people were affected for the rest of their lives.”
Oliver O’Connell13 August 2023 08:00
Scale of wildfire scarring on Maui’s burned land captured by aerial footage
Drone video shows the devastating aftermath of the wildfires that ravaged the island of Maui. Large tracts of land in the Olinda area were burned black and brown, while charred trees remained standing as smoke billowed overhead. Maui County officials confirmed Friday afternoon (August 11) that the death toll from the Hawaii wildfires has risen to 67. The fires are the state’s deadliest natural disaster in decades, surpassing the tsunami in 1960 that killed 61 people. Fueled by a dry summer and high winds from a passing storm, at least three wildfires broke out on Maui this week, racing through dry brush covering the island.
Oliver O’Connell13 August 2023 07:00
Death toll and cost of fires ‘early stages’
Efforts to assess the full impact of the wildfires in Hawaii are still in their early stages, officials there warned Saturday, even as the death toll rose to 89.
The fire that ravaged Maui’s historic town of Lahaina was the deadliest in the US in more than a century.
Crews with cadaver dogs covered only 3 percent of the search area, Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said. “We have an area that we need to contain at least 5 square miles and it is full of our loved ones. And we have 89 so far. Now we know two,” said the death toll likely which will increase and “none of us knows how big it is.” He spoke as federal emergency workers picked through an ashen moonscape left by the fire. Teams marked the ruins of Lahaina homes with a bright orange X for an initial search and HR when they found human remains.
Wildfire damage is shown, Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii
(AP)
Pelletier said identifying the dead was extremely challenging because “we picked up the bodies and they were disintegrating… When we found our family and our friends, the bodies we found -an is by fire melting metal”. The dogs worked through the wreckage, and their occasional bark – used to alert their handlers to a possible corpse – echoed through the hot and colorless landscape. “This is definitely the worst natural disaster Hawaii has ever faced,” Gov. Josh Green said Saturday as he toured the devastation on historic Front Street.
“We can only wait and support the living. Our focus now is to reunite people if we can and give them homes and give them health care, and then go back to rebuilding. ”
Adam Withnall13 August 2023 05:38
