About 1,000 people are missing in devastating Hawaii wildfire

About 1,000 people are missing in the devastating Hawaii wildfire, which has risen to at least 55 – including a disabled man who sent his family a chilling photo of raging flames near his home.

Gov. Josh Green told reporters Thursday night that about 1,000 people are still missing from the deadliest disaster in Aloha state history.

“It doesn’t mean that many died … we can’t contact them, we can’t know,” the governor explained of scenes of devastation that looked “like a bomb”.

“Here lies the challenge: there is no electricity, no internet, no telephone, no radio. They exacerbate some of it. So when we talk to our officers, they need to get a (satellite) phone,” Green continued.

Still, “we’re seeing loss of life here,” he admitted.

“As you know, the number has increased and we will continue to see deaths” and “many hundreds of homes destroyed.”

“It will take a very long time for us to recover from this. But that’s why we come together. We come together to bring comfort to people,” Green added.

The governor toured the historic town of Lahaina, which was decimated by the fire after more than 1,000 buildings were destroyed. Hawaii News Now reported.

“It’s a heartbreaking day. Without a doubt, what we have seen is catastrophic,” Green said.

“When you see the full extent of the destruction in Lahaina, it will shock you. If I may, it looks like a bomb and fire went off,” he said at the press conference.

“And practically all the buildings have to be rebuilt. It will be a new Lahaina, building Maui in its own image and with its own values,” he said, calling on hoteliers and homeowners to help the displaced.

A family is desperate to locate a disabled veteran who evacuated his home on Wednesday.

Brittany Talley said CNN that her grandfather, Timm “TK” Williams Sr., 66, who uses a wheelchair and crutches, sent the family a dramatic photo of the fire that was coming his way in Maui while he was being evacuated.

“He was trying to get to an emergency shelter but all the roads were blocked,” Talley told the network. “He wouldn’t be able to run or move quickly if he needed to.”

What we know about the Maui wildfires

At least 36 people have died in the Maui wildfires that broke out late Tuesday.

“We still have bodies floating on the seawall,” a Lahaina said A resident told Hawaii News Now. “They’ve been sitting there since last night.”

The wildfires, fanned by strong winds, have burned down several buildings, forced evacuations and caused power outages in several communities.

The National Weather Service said Hurricane Dora was partly responsible for the high winds that cut power by nightfall. About 13,000 Maui residents are reportedly without power.

People rush to the sea to escape the smoke and flames fanned by Hurricane Dora.

Firefighters in Maui are battling multiple fires in the popular tourist destination of West Maui and in a mountainous inland region. Firefighters struggled to reach some areas cut off by fallen trees and power lines.

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Williams’ daughter Nikki White posted a photo of him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, asking for help finding it.

“He was last known to be driving away from the Kaanapali area and taking shelter in a white SUV. We haven’t heard from him since 4pm yesterday. White wrote.

Meanwhile, Maui residents questioned why the state’s famous emergency alert system didn’t alert them as the flames raced toward their homes.

Hawaii emergency management records show no indication the sirens were triggered by the wildfire, officials confirmed Thursday.

The state has what it believes to be the largest integrated public safety alert system in the world, with about 400 sirens across the island chain to warn residents of natural disasters and other threats.

But many Lahaina survivors at evacuation centers said they heard no sirens and only realized they were in danger when they saw flames or heard explosions.

Thomas Leonard, a 70-year-old retired postal worker from Lahaina, was unaware of the fire until he smelled smoke.

The city had lost power and cellular connections and residents had no real-time information about the danger.

Leonard attempted to drive away in his jeep, but was forced to exit the vehicle and run to shore when nearby cars began to explode. He hid behind a seawall for several hours while the wind blew hot ashes and cinders over him.

Firefighters eventually got him and other survivors to safety through the flames.

Adam Weintraub, a spokesman for the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, said the agency’s records did not show that Maui’s warning sirens went off Tuesday.

Instead, the county used emergency alerts that were broadcast to cellphones, TVs and radio stations, he said.

Maui Fire Chief Brad Ventura said the wildfire spread from the undergrowth to the neighborhood so quickly that it was impossible to get messages to the emergency management agencies responsible for relaying alerts.

Maui’s firefighting efforts may also have been hampered by a small staffing level, said Bobby Lee, president of the Hawaii Firefighters Association.

The maximum of 65 firefighters on duty in Maui County at any one time are responsible for fighting fires on three islands — Maui, Molokai and Lanai, he noted.

They have about 13 fire engines and two ladder trucks, but they’re all designed for street use, Lee said.

That means firefighters can’t thoroughly fight bushfires before they reach roads or populated areas, he said.

The high winds created by Hurricane Dora made this extremely difficult, Lee added.

“You’re basically dealing with trying to fight a blowtorch,” Lee said. “You have to be careful – you can’t get caught downwind or you’ll be run over by a wind-driven fire of this magnitude.”

The wildfire is already the state’s deadliest natural disaster since a 1960 tsunami that killed 61 people on the Big Island.

It’s also the deadliest wildfire in the United States since the Camp Fire in California in 2018, which killed at least 85 people and destroyed the town of Paradise.

President Joe Biden, who declared a major disaster on Maui, vowed the federal response will ensure “anyone who has lost a loved one or whose home has been damaged or destroyed receives immediate assistance.”

With post wires