MAUI, Hawaii − Rescue crews searched for survivors Thursday amid the devastation left behind in Maui by the deadliest U.S. wildfire in five years, a quickly developing inferno that killed 36 people, injured dozens and rendered much of a historic town to ashes.
Even as evacuations and assessments were being conducted, officials said more than 270 structures were damaged or destroyed, including entire blocks of homes, businesses and a 200-year-old church in Lahaina Town in Maui.
The fires − fueled by wind from passing Hurricane Dora and exacerbated by overly dry vegetation from the ongoing drought − were so intense that the Coast Guard rescued 14 people who fled into the ocean to escape flames and smoke Wednesday, including two children. And the danger has not passed. Firefighters were still battling the stubborn blazes Thursday, when reduced wind speeds aided their efforts.
“We are still in life preservation mode. Search and rescue is still a primary concern,” said Adam Weintraub, a spokesperson for Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.
Not since the 2018 Camp Fire in California, which killed at least 85 and wiped out the town of Paradise, had a U.S. community endured such a deadly wildfire. The Hawaii toll could rise as rescuers get to parts of the island that have been been unreachable because of fires or obstructions.
Wildfires were also still burning on the Big Island, but no injuries or destroyed homes had been reported, Mayor Mitch Roth said.
The Maui Fire Department planned to conduct a damage assessment Thursday morning, county officials said, and mass bus evacuations took visitors from West Maui to the Kahului Airport. Though winds are expected to die down Thursday and Friday, there’s no rainfall in the forecast for the parts of Maui impacted by the fire.
President Joe Biden on Thursday declared a major disaster in Hawaii, which makes federal funding available to aid recovery efforts. Before delivering a speech in Salt Lake City, Biden addressed the disaster in Hawaii and said: “We’ll get aid into the hands of people who desperately need the help. Anyone who’s lost a loved one or whose home has been damaged is going to get help immediately.’’
Acting Gov. Sylvia Luke said late Wednesday that “the road to recovery will be long.” Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen Jr. said the island had “been tested like never before in our lifetime.”
“With lives lost and properties decimated, we are grieving with each other during this inconsolable time,” Bissen said.
Biden approves Hawaii’s disaster declaration
Federal aid will be available to support state and local recovery efforts after Biden declared a major disaster in Hawaii.
“Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster,” according to a statement from the White House.
Biden said he instructed FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, who is expected to arrive in the state Friday, to streamline help processes. He encouraged those who want to find out if they’re eligible for federal help to get information at disasterassistance.gov.
Families with nowhere else to go; concerns for the homeless
On Thursday, Leomana Turalde was at Maui’s Maalea Harbor, about 16 miles east of the worst damage at Lahaina, where he was headed to help find missing people. “In every parking lot on the island” it seemed there were families sleeping in their rental cars Thursday morning, with nowhere else to go, he said.
There were still some small fires burning throughout Maui on Thursday, Turalde, 36, told USA TODAY. There was also heavy traffic around National Guard checkpoints and chain stores are shut down, he said.
Turalde said he’s most worried about friends and one cousin who are part of Maui’s homeless community.
“They’re all devastated,” he said.
“If I can help out those people, that’s kind of my main concern because nobody really cares about the homeless person with no ID,” he said.
− Claire Thornton
What travelers should know about the Maui wildfires
Hawaii’s tourism arm is encouraging travelers with trips planned to areas impacted by the wildfires to reschedule their trips if possible.
“All nonessential travel to the Island of Maui is strongly discouraged,” Acting Hawaii Gov. Sylvia Luke wrote in an emergency proclamation Wednesday, which extended the emergency period until Aug. 31.
The state of emergency is in effect for the entire state, though so far the fires have been limited to Maui and the northwest part of the Big Island of Hawaii.
Travel to other parts of the big island of Hawaii, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai and Lanai is still welcome. Travelers can check with their specific hotels and airlines for special waiver policies amid the wildfires.
− Eve Chen
Officials work to suppress fire, restore power
Evacuation efforts have been complicated by power blackouts, a lack of cell service, the loss of 911 service and downed power lines in different parts of the islands. More than 11,000 customers remained without power Thursday according to Poweroutage.us.
Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara, commander general of the Hawaii Army National Guard, said Wednesday night that officials were working to restore communication, distribute water and possibly add law enforcement personnel. He said National Guard helicopters had flown for 13 hours and dropped 150,000 gallons of water on the fires.
County officials said three active fires on Maui remained unchanged at the end of the day Wednesday. Firefighters have been dealing with multiple flareups and have requested additional personnel from Honolulu.
Sen. Mazie Hirono said the priorities include fire suppression and restoring telephone access and electrical power as search and rescue efforts continue.
“This is truly an all hands on deck situation,” Hirono said.
Tourists and residents fleeing to Maui airport
About 11,000 visitors flew out of Maui on Wednesday, and at least another 1,500 expected to leave Thursday, according to Ed Sniffen, state transportation director. The Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu was being prepared to accommodate up to 4,000 people displaced by the wildfires.
Lahaina resident Jordan Saribay saw homes burst into flames “as tall as the buildings because they were engulfing them.’’ Debris turned into dangerous projectiles as people whose cars had run out of gas tried to flee while carrying their prized possessions, he said.
“While driving through the neighborhood, it looked like a war zone,’’ Saribay said. “Houses throughout that neighborhood were already on fire. I’m driving through the thickest black smoke, and I don’t know what’s on the other side or what’s in front of me.’’
Firefighters could see some relief with winds letting up
The high winds fueling wildfires began to wane late Wednesday and will continue to ease during the day Thursday and into Friday, providing some much needed relief for firefighters battling the blazes, AccuWeather senior meteorologist Heather Zehr told USA TODAY.
Zehr said wind gusts Thursday could occasionally get to 30-35 mph; local peaks of 40 mph were possible. Later in the day and into Friday, that should ease further with gusts not getting over about 20 mph.
“It should be better conditions now for today, easier for the firefighters to be able to do what they need to do and hopefully get some better control over these fires,” Zehr said.
− Jeanine Santucci
Why devastated Lahaina Town is such a cherished place on Maui
Residents and visitors are mourning the loss of cultural and religious sites in Lahaina Town that trace their roots back centuries.
Lahaina, which was once the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii, has a population of around 13,000, according to the 2020 U.S. Census. Lahaina Town has also long claimed home to the largest banyan tree in the U.S., which was scorched by the fires.
For Francine Hollinger, a 66-year-old Native Hawaiian, losing Lahaina was “like losing a family member.”
In just a few hours, the wind-driven blaze tore through popular Front Street and decimated the town center, which traces its roots to the 1700s and was on the National Register of Historic Places.
“Lahaina Town is now burned down to ashes, the whole entire town − hotels, buildings, the historic sites,” said Leomana Turalde, who said his mother worked for years as a dancer at Old Lahaina Luau, considered a “well-preserved epicenter of Hawaiian culture and storytelling,” according to its website.
How drought helped fuel Hawaii wildfires
Much of the state is in varying levels of drought, and parts of Maui are affected by moderate and severe drought conditions, including some areas around Lahaina, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. An estimated 263,948 Hawaii residents are living in drought areas, the Drought Monitor said Thursday.
The duration and severity of droughts in Hawaii have increased over the last century, the National Integrated Drought Information System has warned.
With drought comes vegetation that’s drier than it would usually be, which adds power to a wildfire, AccuWeather senior meteorologist Heather Zehr told USA TODAY. That risk could continue, as there’s no rainfall expected soon for the part of Maui impacted by fire.
“As long as you’re stuck in this pattern when you’re not getting a lot of rainfall, you’re going to continue to have these problems where it doesn’t take much to start a fire and it takes even less to make it spread,” Zehr said.
− Jeanine Santucci
Aerial photos show damage in Lahaina, Banyan Court
Satellite imagery and photos from the ground revealed the devastating damage wildfires have done to Maui landmarks including Lahaina’s iconic banyan tree, Front Street and Waiola Church.
The banyan tree, planted in 1873 after being imported from India, was threatened by the fires and suffered damage to trunks and limbs but remains standing, the Honolulu Civil Beat reported.
What caused the Maui fires?
High winds and low humidity likely contributed to the fires, but officials know little else, Hara said at a briefing Wednesday. Hurricane Dora, a Category 4 storm in the Pacific Ocean, fueled the strong winds overnight in Maui, with gusts of 60 mph damaging homes and knocking out power.
But some experts said they suspect human development on the island is at least partly to blame for the destruction.
Wildfires have quadrupled in Hawaii in recent decades, and many scientists say the culprit is unmanaged, non-native grasslands planted by plantations and ranchers and others unfamiliar with the island’s native ecosystems. The grass is dry and prone to fires.
“There is no doubt that fire-prone grasses have invaded drier Hawaiian ecosystems and brought larger, more intense fires,” said Peter Vitousek, a professor of earth sciences at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.
− Marc Ramirez
Maui death toll climbs
At least 36 people have died in the Lahaina fire in Hawaii, Maui County wrote in a statement posted to the county website Wednesday evening.
Six patients were flown from Maui to the island of Oahu on Tuesday night, said Speedy Bailey, regional director for the air-ambulance company Hawaii Life Flight. Three of them had critical burns and were taken to Straub Medical Center’s burn unit in Honolulu, he said. The others were taken to other Honolulu hospitals. At least 20 patients were taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center, said Bailey.
Maui fire map
Maui wildfire map: A look at how Hurricane Dora and low humidity are fueling Hawaii fires
‘Maui Strong’: Here’s how to help Hawaii fire victims
Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara, from the Hawaii State Department of Defense, asked those who want to donate supplies or volunteer to do so through the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency. James Kunane Tokioka, director of the department of business, economic development and tourism, said the governor has also asked people with vacant homes or vacation rentals to provide shelter for those in need.
Several shelters are open to assist those on the islands and several local organizations are collecting donations. USA TODAY compiled resources for Americans to help people and animals in Hawaii here.
By Wednesday, the Hawaii Community Foundation said its Maui Strong Fund had raised more than $1 million to support residents affected by the wildfires. Funding will be used for “evolving needs, including shelter, food, financial assistance and other services as identified by our partners doing critical work on Maui,” the foundation said in a statement.
Contributing: The Associated Press; Ashley Lewis and Kayla Jimenez, USA TODAY
