A massive wildfire on the Hawaiian island of Maui claimed six people’s lives and left two dozen others injured on Wednesday (Aug 9). Meanwhile, the historic town of Lahaina is on the brink of total destruction. US Senator from Hawaii, Brian Schatz, said on social media that Lahaina is “almost totally burnt to the ground”.
Maui County Mayor Richard Missen confirmed the six fatalities, but could not provide further details.
At least 20 are reported to be injured, including a firefighter who suffered smoke inhalation. Three patients are in critical condition.
More than thousands were forced to evacuate as their homes turned into ashes in the western part of the island.
Electricity, phone tower down
Essential services like electricity and cell tower were down as the fires continued to rage triggered by strong winds from a nearby hurricane in the Pacific Ocean.
Over 12,000 people across Hawaii are currently without power, according to PowerOutage.Us.
WATCH: Footage shows catastrophic scenes from Lahaina. 911 service, cell service, and some landlines are down in parts of Maui as ‘unprecedented’ wildfires rage in Hawaii pic.twitter.com/hU3wh9l9nV
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) August 9, 2023
There were also reports of some people jumping into the Pacific Ocean to escape the smoke and fire conditions but were saved by the US Coast Guard.
Officials said they were looking into witness reports of people being trapped in their cars, a Maui County press release stated.
“Our main focus now is to save lives, preventing human suffering, and mitigating great property loss,” Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen told a news briefing.
Officials believe that the death toll may rise further, saying that search and rescue efforts are still afoot.
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An official from the Hawaii Department of Transportation, Ed Sniffen, told Reuters news agency that at least 4,000 tourists were still trying to exit western Maui.
Though at least 16 roads were closed, the Maui airport was still operating fully and airlines were dropping fares and offering waivers to get people off the island, he added.
US President Joe Biden on Wednesday ordered all federal assets in Hawaii to be mobilised to fight wind-whipped wildfires that have killed at least six people.
“I have ordered all available Federal assets on the Islands to help with response,” Biden said in a statement.
What is the cause of wildfire?
Much of the wildfires in Hawaii are being fuelled by strong winds by Hurricane Dora, hundreds of kilometres offshore, and aided by low humidity and dry air, the National Weather Service’s Honolulu office said.
Local officials have said that the winds have complicated efforts to use helicopters for firefighting operations.
Though the exact cause of the blaze is still unknown, a warning was issued across Hawaii when the wildfires first broke out.
“We don’t know what actually ignited the fires, but we were made aware in advance by the National Weather Service that we were in a red flag situation — so that’s dry conditions for a long time, so the fuel, the trees and everything, was dry,” Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara, commander general of the Hawaii Army National Guard, said at Wednesday’s briefing.
That, along with low humidity and high winds, “set the conditions for the wildfires,” he said.
(With inputs from agencies)
