At least 36 people have been killed in the wildfires that tore through the Hawaiian island of Maui, county officials said late Wednesday night, making it one of the country’s deadliest fires in years.
At least three wildfires began raging on Maui on Tuesday, with some so intense that at least a dozen people escaped by jumping into the Pacific Ocean, where they were later rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard. The fires, which had been largely contained as of Wednesday night, burned much of the historic town of Lahaina, which was once Hawaii’s royal capital.
“With lives lost and properties decimated, we are grieving with each other during this inconsolable time,” said Maui’s mayor, Richard Bissen, in a video posted on Facebook on Wednesday night, saying that the past few days had tested residents like never before.
The fires, which have been happening more frequently in the American West and beyond because of climate change, were especially destructive because of the island’s isolation and dependence on tourism. They also destroyed some of Hawaii’s most important cultural heritage.
“This is really devastating, and it will have long-term impacts, not to mention the cultural impacts,” said Burgess Harrison, 66, who owns a home on the island and splits his time between Maui and Minnesota.
The winds driving the fires, driven themselves in part by a hurricane passing hundreds of miles away in the Pacific Ocean, were expected to ease on Thursday, and wind and fire-related advisories were canceled on Wednesday night.
But the Hawaii Department of Health said in an advisory on Wednesday that the fires were still generating dense smoke and ash. Three active fires on Maui continued, and firefighters have been dealing with flares-ups, the County of Maui said. The island opened two additional evacuation shelters on Wednesday night, the county said in an update on its website early Thursday.
“This is truly an all hands on deck situation,” said Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii during a news conference Wednesday night.
In other developments:
- Tourists have been asked to leave Maui, and buses will ferry visitors in West Maui to the island’s Kahului Airport on Thursday morning. About 1,500 passengers were expected to leave on Thursday, and 11,000 travelers have already been evacuated, officials said.
- The fires have been contained, but there have been periodic flare-ups, Maj. Gen. Kenneth S. Hara said on Wednesday night.
- The damage on the islands is widespread, and recovery will likely take years, said Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke.
- Thirty U.S. Army service members arrived on Maui on Wednesday night and will conduct search and recovery efforts on Thursday morning, Maui County officials said.
- All mandatory evacuations from the Big Island have been lifted as of Wednesday night, the County of Hawaii said.
- Phone service was down in some parts of the island’s west coast, including Lahaina, where fire has been ripping through weathered wooden storefronts.