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Published: 17:48 EDT, 15 August 2023 | Updated: 20:55 EDT, 15 August 2023

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By Stacy Liberatore For Dailymail.com

Published: 11:54 EDT, 14 August 2023 | Updated: 16:30 EDT, 14 August 2023

At least 36 people have been killed in the Hawaii wildfires with the death roll expected to rise as locals continue to ‘pull bodies from the water’ in Maui and frantically search for missing relatives. 

Maui firefighters are desperately hunting for survivors in the scorched remains of the historic town of Lahaina, which one resident says has nearly been ‘wiped off the map’.

All of the victims were in Lahaina, the ‘decimated’ town where some 271 buildings have been destroyed by the blaze which has ravaged 800 hectares of land, fanned by powerful winds. 

Lahaina, the former capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom, was a hub of history and culture on the island. 

Now, hundreds of people who lived there are homeless and countless relics have been destroyed.  

While the exact source of the fires remain unknown, they began on Tuesday fueled by strong winds from the passing Hurricane Dora. Low humidity and a prolonged drought season which dried trees also contributed to the disaster, according to officials.  

As fires closed in all the way up to the shoreline, frantic locals jumped into the water in the harbor to escape the flames on Tuesday night. Twelve people were rescued from the waves by boats. 

Governor Josh Green, who had been traveling with his family, today as distraught residents of Lahaina woke up to photos and videos of their homes entirely destroyed. 

‘We just had the worst disaster I’ve ever seen. All Lahaina is burnt to a crisp. It’s like an apocalypse,’ said one resident. 

Another escaped with his wife, children and dog and slept in a Whole Foods parking lot before waking to the news that their home had been destroyed. 

‘We got to this side of the island midnight last night, with my wife and dog, we slept in a parking lot at Whole Foods. We woke up and got on our phones to pictures of our house down to slab. Nothing but smoke and cinders. We have the clothes we got on, a dog and two kids. And here we are,’ he told NBC News. 

One local told reporters on Wednesday: ‘We’ve still got dead bodies floating on the seawall. They’ve been sitting there since last night. We’ve been pulling people out since last night, trying to save peoples’ lives.’ 

Authorities, who had earlier put the death toll at six, are struggling to find shelter for huge numbers of locals and tourists who fled the inferno, while firefighters are making little headway in battling the flames.

Some 11,000 people flew out of Maui yesterday and another 1,500 are expected to leave today if they can.  

The wildfires, which have been whipped up by strong winds from Hurricane Dora passing far to the south, took the island of Maui by surprise, leaving behind burned-out cars and smoking piles of rubble where historic buildings  stood.

Flames roared throughout the night, forcing adults and children to dive into the ocean to escape the fire. 

The blaze began early on Tuesday, threatening homes, businesses and more than 35,000 people on the island of Maui, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency said. Thousands of tourists at the popular holiday destination are stuck on the island and seeking temporary shelter after being ordered to evacuate.

President Joe Biden has now ordered ‘all available federal assets’ to battle the wildfires and sent in Black Hawks to help douse the flames.

Democratic Senator for Hawaii, Brian Schatz, warned Lahaina has been ‘almost totally burned to the ground’ while a local resident described the town as ‘like a warzone’. 

Another witness said it was a scene of ‘utter devastation… It is far from hyperbole to say that Lahaina has been wiped off the map’.  

Officials are nervously awaiting a presidential declaration of emergency, which they hope will be made in the coming ‘hours or days’ as the state estimates it is facing billions of dollars of damage. 

At a press conference, Lt Governor Sylvia Luke said she had flown over Lahaina, a town of 12,000 people, to see the damage with her own eyes.

‘[It] was just so shocking and devastating… The whole town was devastated, the whole town was decimated,’ she said.

A longtime Maui resident who filmed the scenes of devastation in Lahaina said he would not share some footage as it was too graphic. Emerson Timmins told local news outlet KHON2 News: ‘There were cars abandoned on the road, I assume those people couldn’t get out in time.

‘They probably headed to the ocean, the ones that could make it, and people leaving their homes.

‘If a young person could barely get out of there with their family, then the elderly are trapped, those that are handicapped.

‘It’s terrifying to think about all those families losing their loved ones and their homes.’

Firefighters were still struggling to contain three of the biggest fires raging on the island by midnight on Wednesday – fueling fears that many will wake up on Thursday with their homes scorched to cinders. 

Meanwhile, Hawaii Governor Josh Green warned that there is not enough shelter ‘for long-term living’ to aid those several hundreds of residents who have lost homes in the wildfires. 

Currently, around 2,000 tourists are in shelters near the island’s airport. 

The entirety of West Maui remains without power, and has no landline or cellphone service due to the wildfires. 

 

A mass bus evacuation at Sheraton Maui Resort in Kaʻanapali late on Wednesday took tourist to Kahului Airport where travellers have been desperately trying to board departing flights.

Shelters remain open at War Memorial Gymnasium in Wailuku, Maui High School in Kahului and Hannibal Tavares Community Center in Pukalani, the state said early on Thursday morning. 

Governor Josh Green told CNN: ‘What we’re trying to do right now is to make sure that anyone who doesn’t need to be in Maui for anything but essential travel does not go to Maui. 

‘I’m making a call right now to all the people of Hawaii: If you have an ADU on your property, if you have a rental that’s not occupied right now, we will be promoting a program quite quickly to put people back into shelter.

‘We already struggle with homelessness and a severe shortage of housing in our state, so this of course exacerbates that problem.’ 

The harbor has been severely impacted – and there is widespread damage to the West Maui town, according to federal forces. 

Four helicopters have been deployed for water drops in Lahaina, while two Chinooks, along with four Windward Aviation helicopters and Black Hawks have been called in. 

Three helicopters from the US Coast Guard and US Navy were conducting search and rescue along the West Maui coastline late on Thursday night.

Maui Memorial Medical Center announced it had treated seven patients, two of which are in critical condition, for fire-related injuries.

Some are being treated for burns and smoke inhalation. An additional seven patients have been transferred to Oahu for specialty services. 

Wade Ebersole, Chief Operations Officer of the hospital said: ‘Our caregivers care deeply about this community’s health and well-being and are working to ensure that all of our patients’ needs are being met.

‘Our hearts and support are with our community and first responders during this challenging time.’

Satellite images, taken before and after the fires erupted, showed the devastation to the landscape and infrastructure. 

While tourists usually flock to Lahaina for its white sandy beaches and stunning resorts, for residents it is a town rich with heritage and filled with historical sites. 

Locals are fearing that the historic banyan tree in Lahaina, which has stood outside the town’s courthouse for 150 years, may have fallen victim to the flames.

Thought to be the oldest living banyan in Maui, the beautiful tree holds a special meaning for Hawaiians.

‘Only time will tell if it survives the injuries sustained in the fires, but it feels like a small beacon of hope in this disaster,’ said one person on social media.

Video appears to show the famous tree amongst the charred devastation, but still standing strong. 

‘Only time will tell if it survives the injuries sustained in the fires, but it feels like a small beacon of hope in this disaster,’ said one person sharing the footage online. 

Pictures revealed that the Lahaina Heritage Museum has been incinerated to the point that its roof has collapsed, according to CNN.

The Baldwin Home Museum – where the physician who saved Maui from an epidemic of smallpox lived in the 19th century – has reportedly been destroyed.

The Wo Hing Temple Museum, which was a social and spiritual meeting point for Hawaii’s Chinese immigrant community, has also been burned down in the travesty.

On Wednesday afternoon, Joe Biden called for Federal aid to reach Hawaii on Wednesday evening, and said the U.S. Coast Guard, Navy Third Fleets and U.S Marines are supporting response and rescue efforts.

Mayor Richard Bissen Jr confirmed the devastating fatalities: ‘I’m sad to report that just before coming on this, it was confirmed we’ve had 6 fatalities. We are still in a search and rescue mode.

‘We’ve had many dwellings – businesses, structures – that have been burned, many of them to the ground.

‘As a result of three fires that have occurred that are continuing here on our island we have had 13 evacuations from different neighborhoods and towns, we’ve had 16 road closures, we’ve opened five shelters.’  

Power remains out for 11,209 Hawaiians, and the fires are ongoing. 

James Kunane Tokioka, the state’s business, economic development and tourism director, said: ‘Local people have lost everything.

‘They’ve lost their house, they’ve lost their animals and it’s devastating.’ 

The National Weather Service has warned that more destruction is on the way.

Initiating a red flag warning, it said on Wednesday afternoon: ‘Very dry fuels combined with strong and gusty easterly winds and low humidities will produce critical fire weather conditions through the afternoon hours.’  

US President Joe Biden said in a statement: ‘Jill and I send our deepest condolences to the families of those who lost loved ones in the wildfires in Maui, and our prayers are with those who have seen their homes, businesses, and communities destroyed. 

‘We are grateful to the brave firefighters and first responders who continue to run toward danger, putting themselves in harm’s way to save lives.

‘I have ordered all available Federal assets on the Islands to help with response. The Hawaiian National Guard has mobilized Chinook Helicopters to help with fire suppression and search and rescue on the Island of Maui. 

‘The U.S. Coast Guard and Navy Third Fleets are supporting response and rescue efforts. The U.S. Marines are providing Black Hawk Helicopters to fight the fires on the Big Island. 

‘The Department of Transportation is working with commercial airlines to evacuate tourists from Maui, and the Department of the Interior and the United States Department of Agriculture stand ready to support post fire recovery efforts.

‘I urge all residents to continue to follow evacuation orders, listen to the instructions of first responders and officials, and stay alert.’

Victoria Wayne-Bowley was born and raised in the historic town of Lahaina. This morning the Hawaiian native woke up to non-stop phone calls from frantic friends and extended family claiming their homes had either burned down or were under threat from the devastating fires that have ravaged Maui.

‘Everyone is sleep deprived not knowing where their loved ones are. I never would have imagined this type of catastrophe. It’s the most devastating disaster in the history of Maui,’ Wayne Bowley told DailyMail.com. 

‘The whole Lahaina is a complete wasteland. There were people whose only choice was to jump into the ocean, while the coastguard raced to help them. It looks like Hiroshima.

‘Literally people were driving to dinner last night like everything was safe and in just a short period of time within 24 hours this happened,’ said Wayne-Bowley who lived in Lahaina for 25 years before moving to New Jersey, but still travels to Maui on a regular basis for work.

Wayne-Bowley and her family run a popular clothing company throughout the island called Maui Clothing Company with some 70 employees. As of this afternoon, cell phone usage was dodgy or no longer viable because of the fires. 

Her father Edward Wayne founded the business in 1982 which has grown to 14 stores. Three of which are under immediate threat.

‘We still can’t get in touch with our employees. No one is reachable in the Lahaina area,’ Wayne-Bowley explained. ‘I’ve been communicating through email, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

‘I am 99% sure that our original store on Front Street in Lahaina burned down today. My parents opened it in 1982, the year I was born. Back them it was called Lobster & Roses, but the name was changed to the Maui Clothing Company. 

‘Our other two stores, Maui WaterWear and Cruise Maui Boutique, are located in another shopping area called Whalers Village in Kaanapali which is also under threat.’

Both locations are Lahaina’s most popular tourist destinations for shopping.

‘It’s really sad to see this scale of devastation. We have family and friends that started restaurants and stores decades ago, only to be destroyed. There are historical landmarks that have been burned down.’

‘We don’t know all the details, but these are nostalgic places that people have gone to for the past 50 years that are no longer there.’

‘I feel sad. It’s devastating. It’s tragic and it’s heartbreaking. You feel like everyone is your family on the island and everyone treats each other like family.’

Longtime friend and well known dermatologist in Lahaina, Dr. George Martin narrowly escaped the deadly fire which came within just 1/4 mile away from his ranch with one hundred animals.

‘Our close friend Dr. Martin has close to one hundred animals, horses, chickens, ponies. He had to evacuate them all last and fortunately people from other parts of the island offered to help. That’s what people are like here. Everyone is helping and posting messages online saying they have land and to bring your animals.’

A disheartened local shared a heartbreaking Instagram post saying, ‘My brother says there are bodies on the ground in Lahaina.’

Devastating aerial video shows the extent of the damage in Lahaina, where thousands of locals fled in the dead of the night to escape being trapped. 

Claire Kent, who was among those who took to the water in boats, said she had lost ‘everything’. 

‘I am out of Lahaina, safe with a few friends in Waiehu. My home is gone, my town is gone, my job is gone. We lost everything. 

‘This is the scariest thing I have ever experienced. So incredibly devastated.’ 

Multiple burn patients were today flown out of Maui to Honolulu to be cared for as the ‘apocalyptic’ blazes rage on. 

The fires, fanned by strong winds from Hurricane Dora, have burned structures, forced evacuations and caused power outages in several communities.

The worst of the fires is on Maui. One is torching parts of northern Wailea – where tourist hotels like the Four Seasons and Hilton scatter the beach – and another has destroyed the town of Lahaina. 

A worker at the Four Seasons Wailea told DailyMail.com that the resort has not been affected aside from ‘some air quality issues’. The $990-a-night hotel is where the first season of The White Lotus was filmed.

A Lahaina resident whose home was burned down but stayed in the town to help told Hawaii News Now: ‘We’re gonna do our best to get past this and it’s gonna be tough… It’s going to take years to fix. This is not even the worst of it.’

‘This is an unprecedented disaster as an indirect result of Hurricane Dora passing just south of our island. It is truly devastating and my heart goes out to the residents of Maui and all those impacted,’ Lt. Governor Sylvie Luke said Wednesday morning. 

One fire in Kula, central Maui, is raging near to where Oprah recently purchased hundreds of acres of land. 

‘This is so unprecedented. An emergency in the night is terrifying… right now it is all-hands-on-deck and we are anxious for daybreak,’ Maui County spokesperson Mahina Martin said in the early hours of Wednesday morning. 

‘We are already in communication with other hospital systems about relieving the burden — the reality is that we need to fly people out of Maui to give them burn support because Maui hospital cannot do extensive burn treatment. 

‘In addition to dealing with disaster, we’re dealing with major transportation issues as well,’ she told CNN on Wednesday. 

‘911 is down. Cell service is down. Phone service is down. That’s been part of the problem. The Maui County has not been able to communicate with residents on the west side, the Lahaina side. 

‘What we are trying to do is deploy individuals to go into areas with satellite phone service. 

‘We have only been in contact with perhaps one hotel because the one hotel, the people in charge of that hotel have satellite phones. That’s the only way you can make connection. 

‘It’s impeding communication. It’s impeding efforts to evacuate residents and we are very concerned about that,’ she said. 

Fire chiefs yesterday warned residents to evacuate their homes before it is too late. 

‘The fire can be a mile or more from your house, but in a minute or two, it can be at your house. Burning airborne materials can light fires a great distance away from the main body of fire,’ Maui County Fire Assistant Chief Jeff Giesea said. 

Fire crews on Maui were battling multiple blazes concentrated in two areas: the popular tourist destination of West Maui and an inland, mountainous region.

Footage shot from a yacht in Lahaina Mooring Field in Maui shows the sky bruising as huge plumes of smoke rise from the fires. 

Video also shows fires raging through a residential area in Maui surrounded by grassland with black smoke billowing into the sky. 

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