The wildfires that have devastated parts of the Hawaiian island of Maui have killed six people, officials said.
Fire was widespread in Lahaina Town, including on Front Street, a popular shopping and dining area, County of Maui spokesperson Mahina Martin said.
Photos posted by the county overnight showed a line of flames blazing across an intersection and leaping above buildings in the town centre that dates to the 1700s and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Aerial video from after sunrise revealed entire blocks of buildings reduced to ash and thick smoke in the air.
Firefighting effort continuing in West Maui, Pulehu and Upcountry https://t.co/NACz2bPn4e pic.twitter.com/K7Tqt6S8Pf
Advertisement— County of Maui (@CountyofMaui) August 9, 2023
“Do not go to Lahaina Town,” the county tweeted hours before all roads in and out of West Maui’s biggest community were closed to everyone except emergency personnel. More than 2,100 people spent the night in evacuation centres.
Crews on Maui were battling multiple blazes concentrated in two areas: the tourist destination of West Maui and an inland, mountainous region. In West Maui, 911 service was out and residents were directed to call the police department directly.
The National Weather Service said Hurricane Dora, which was passing to the south of the island chain at a safe distance of 500 miles, was partly to blame for gusts above 60 mph that knocked out power, rattled homes and grounded firefighting helicopters.
Aircraft resumed flights on Wednesday as the strong winds diminished somewhat.
The Coast Guard on Tuesday rescued 14 people including two children, who had fled into the ocean to escape the fire and smoky conditions, the county said in a statement.
#Happeningnow
The @USCG Cutter Joseph Gerczak, a MH-65 Dolphin aircrew, and a small boat crew from Station Maui have deployed to Front Street Beach and Lahaina Small Boat Harbor in the response effort to the fires in Maui.
Updates will be posted as new information is received. pic.twitter.com/jNMkylXnRY— USCG Hawaii Pacific (@USCGHawaiiPac) August 9, 2023
Fires killed six people on the island of Maui, County of Maui Mayor Richard Bissen Jr said during a Wednesday morning news conference. He said he had just learned the news and did not know the details of how or where on the island the deaths happened.
Six patients were flown from Maui to the island of Oahu on Tuesday night, said Speedy Bailey, regional director for Hawaii Life Flight, an air-ambulance company.
Three of them had critical burns and were taken to Straub Medical Centre’s burn unit, he said. The others were taken to other Honolulu hospitals. At least 20 patients were taken to Maui Memorial Medical Centre, he said. He had not heard of any deaths.
Authorities said earlier Wednesday that a firefighter in Maui was taken to hospital in a stable condition after inhaling smoke.
Acting Gov Sylvia Luke issued an emergency proclamation on behalf of Gov Josh Green, who is travelling, and activated the Hawaii National Guard to assist.
Officials were not aware of any deaths, Ms Martin said. There is no count available for the number of structures that have burned or the number of people who have evacuated, but Ms Martin said there were four shelters open and that more than 1,000 people were at the largest.
“This is so unprecedented,” Ms Martin said, noting that multiple districts were affected. An emergency in the night is terrifying, she said, and the darkness makes it hard to gauge the extent of the damage.
Kahului Airport, the main airport in Maui, was sheltering 2,000 travellers whose flights were cancelled or who recently arrived on the island, the county said.
Officials are preparing the Hawaii Convention Centre in Honolulu to take in thousands of displaced tourists and locals.
