Maui
\nDeath toll from Hawaii wildfire in Maui\u2019s Lahaina town killed at least 55 people leaving 80% of the town decimated 55 Thursday, according to Governor Josh Green, making it the deadliest wildfire in US history in which hundreds of firefighters are on the ground to contain the fire.
\nThe blaze started on Hawaii\u2019s Maui island Tuesday and was fanned by winds from a nearby hurricane.
\nAccording to the authorities, the blaze moved so quickly that many could not get time to escape, trapped in the streets or throwing themselves into the ocean.
\n\u201cWhat we\u2019ve seen today has been catastrophic… likely the largest natural disaster in Hawaii state history,\u201d Governor Green said.
\n\u201cIn 1960 we had 61 fatalities when a large wave came through Big Island,\u201d he said earlier in the day, referring to a tragedy that struck a year after Hawaii became the 50th US state.
\nMaui County officials said just after 9:00pm Thursday (0700 GMT Friday) that fatalities stood at 55, and firefighters were still battling the blaze in the town that served as the Hawaiian kingdom\u2019s capital in the early 19th century.
\n\u201cThis time, it\u2019s very likely that our death totals will significantly exceed that,\u201d the Governor noted.
\n\u201cIt really looks like somebody came along and just bombed the whole town. It\u2019s completely devastated,\u201d said Canadian Brandon Wilson, who had travelled to Hawaii.
\n\u201cIt was really hard to see,\u201d he said. \u201cYou feel so bad for people. They lost their homes, their lives, their livelihoods.\u201d
\nThe fires follow other extreme weather events in North America this summer, with record-breaking wildfires still burning across Canada and a major heat wave baking the US southwest.
\nEurope and parts of Asia have also endured soaring temperatures, with major fires and floods wreaking havoc.
\nThe burned skeletons of trees still stand, rising above the ashes of the buildings to which they once offered shelter.
\nGreen said 80% of the town was gone.
\n\u201cBuildings that we\u2019ve all enjoyed and celebrated together for decades, for generations, are completely destroyed,\u201d he said.
\nThousands have been left homeless and Green said a massive operation was swinging into action to find accommodation.
\n\u201cWe are going to need to house thousands of people,\u201d he told a press conference.
\n\u201cThat will mean reaching out to all of our hotels and those in the community to ask people to rent extra rooms at their property.\u201d
\nPresident Joe Biden on Thursday declared the fires a \u201cmajor disaster\u201d and unblocked federal aid for relief efforts, with rebuilding expected to take years.
\nPeople jumped into ocean in Lahaina
\nUS Coast Guard commander Aja Kirksey told CNN around 100 people were believed to have jumped into the water in a desperate effort to flee the fast-moving flames as they tore through Lahaina.
\nKirksey said helicopter pilots struggled to see because of dense smoke, but that a Coast Guard vessel had been able to rescue more than 50 people from the water.
\n\u201cIt was a really rapidly developing scene and pretty harrowing for the victims that had to jump into the water,\u201d she added.
\nFor resident Kekoa Lansford, the horror was far from over.
\n\u201cWe still get dead bodies in the water floating and on the seawall,\u201d Lansford told CBS News.
\n\u201cWe have been pulling people out… We\u2019re trying to save people\u2019s lives, and I feel like we are not getting the help we need.\u201d
\nGreen said around 1,700 buildings were believed to have been affected by the blaze.
\n\u201cWith lives lost and properties decimated, we are grieving with each other during this inconsolable time,\u201d Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said.
\n\u201cIn the days ahead, we will be stronger as a… community,\u201d he added, \u201cas we rebuild with resilience and aloha.\u201d
\nMass evacuation from Maui\u2019s Lahaina
\nThousands of people have already been evacuated from Maui, with 1,400 people waiting at the main airport in Kahului overnight, hoping to get out.
\nMaui County has asked visitors to leave \u201cas soon as possible,\u201d and organised buses to move evacuees from shelters to the airport.
\nThe island hosts around a third of all the visitors who holiday in the state, and their dollars are vital for the local economy.
\nAt the airport in Kahului, Lorraina Peterson said she had been stuck for days without food or power, and was now looking at a lengthy wait for a flight.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know if we\u2019ll be able to get a hotel room, or we\u2019ll have to sleep here on the floor,\u201d she said.
\nWith a hurricane passing to the south of Hawaii, high winds fueled flames that consumed dry vegetation.
\nThomas Smith, a professor with the London School of Economics, said that while wildfires are not uncommon in Hawaii, the blazes this year \u201care burning a greater area than usual, and the fire behaviour is extreme, with fast spread rates and large flames.\u201d
\nAs global temperatures rise over time, heat waves are projected to become more frequent, with increased dryness due to changing rainfall patterns creating ideal conditions for bush or forest fires.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Maui Death toll from Hawaii wildfire in Maui\u2019s Lahaina town killed at least 55 people leaving 80% of the town decimated 55 Thursday, according to Governor Josh Green, making it the deadliest wildfire in US history in which hundreds of firefighters are on the ground to contain the fire. The blaze started on Hawaii\u2019s Maui […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":348767,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-348741","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n