At least 36 people have died in Maui wildfires in Hawaii

At least The fire in Lahaina, Hawaii, Maui County, killed 36 people wrote in a statement posted to the county’s website Wednesday night.

Wildfires triggered by high winds from far south-moving Hurricane Dora swept the island of Maui by surprise, leaving burned-out cars on once-busy streets and smoking piles of rubble where historic buildings had once stood.

The flames raged throughout the night, forcing adults and children to jump into the sea for safety.

Officials previously said 271 buildings were damaged or destroyed and dozens of people were injured.

On Wednesday, emergency services continued to fight the fires in several places on the island. Authorities urged visitors to stay away.

Lahaina residents Kamuela Kawaakoa and Iiulia Yasso described a harrowing escape under a smoke-filled sky on Tuesday afternoon.

The couple and their 6-year-old son grabbed a change of clothes and ran away as bushes around them caught fire.

“We barely made it in time,” Kawaakoa said Wednesday at a shelter, still unsure if there was anything left of her apartment.

As Kawaakoa and Yasso fled, a senior center went up in flames.

They called 911 but didn’t know if people were getting out. Fire alarms rang.

As they drove away, fallen power poles and fleeing cars hampered their progress.

Kawaakoa, 34, grew up in the apartment building called Lahaina Surf, where his father and grandmother also lived. The city of Lahaina dates back to the 17th century and has long been a popular tourist destination.

“It was so hard to just sit there and watch my town burn to ash and not be able to do anything,” Kawaakoa said. “I was helpless.”

The fires were the latest in a series of problems caused by extreme weather conditions around the globe this summer. Experts say climate change is increasing the likelihood of such events.

As winds eased a little on Maui, some flights resumed Wednesday, allowing pilots to see the full extent of the devastation.

Aerial footage from Lahaina showed dozens of homes and businesses being leveled, including Front Street, where tourists once congregated to shop and dine.

Smoking rubble piled high on the shore, boats in the harbor had burned, and gray smoke hung over the leafless skeletons of charred trees.

“It’s terrible. I’ve flown here for 52 years and I’ve never seen anything remotely as good,” said Richard Olsten, a helicopter pilot with a tour operator. “We had tears in our eyes.”

State Department of Education Superintendent Keith Hayashi said in a statement Wednesday that a team is working on contingency plans and preparing for the possible loss of an elementary school that has been in Lahaina for more than a century.

“Unofficial aerial photos show that the campus of King Kamehameha III Elementary School — on Front Street in Lahaina — suffered significant fire and structural damage,” he said. “The Department is committed to maintaining regular school schedules to provide a sense of normalcy, but will keep most Maui schools closed for the remainder of this week,” he said.

The Coast Guard said it rescued 14 people who jumped into the water to escape the flames and smoke, including two children.

Among the injured were three people with severe burns who were flown to the Straub Medical Center burns unit on the island of Oahu, officials said.

At least 20 patients were taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center, officials said, and one firefighter was taken to the hospital in stable condition after inhaling smoke.

Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen Jr. said at a news conference Wednesday morning that he had no details on how or where on the island the six deaths occurred.

He said officials have not yet begun investigating the immediate cause of the fires, but officials pointed to the combination of dry conditions, low humidity and high winds.

More than 2,100 people spent Tuesday night in evacuation centers.

Another 2,000 travelers found shelter at Kahului Airport after many flights were cancelled.

Officials were preparing the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu to accommodate thousands of displaced tourists and locals.

Mauro Farinelli of Lahaina said the wind started blowing hard Tuesday and then a fire somehow broke out on a hill.

“It just pierced everything with incredible speed,” he said, adding it was “like a blowtorch.”

The wind was so strong that he blew his garage door off its hinges and got his car stuck in the garage, Farinelli said.

So a friend drove him to an emergency shelter along with his wife Judit and his dog Susi.

He had no idea what had happened to their house.

“We’re hoping for the best,” he said, “but we’re pretty sure it’s over.”

President Joe Biden said he directed all available federal resources to help with the response.

He said the Hawaii National Guard has mobilized Chinook helicopters to help with firefighting and search and rescue operations on Maui.

“Our prayers are with those whose homes, businesses and communities have been destroyed,” Biden said in a statement.

Hawaii-born former President Barack Obama said on social media that it was difficult to see some of the images from a place so special to many.

Alan Dickar, who owns a billboard gallery and three homes in Lahaina, said all tourists who come to Maui tend to visit Front Street.

“The two central blocs are the economic heart of this island and I don’t know what’s left,” he said.

Dickar captured video of the flames engulfing the main strip before escaping with three friends and two cats.

“All the significant things I owned burned down today,” he said. “I’ll be fine. I got out safely.”

Wildfires are also burning on Hawaii’s Big Island, Mayor Mitch Roth said, although there have been no reports of casualties or homes destroyed there.

Roth said firefighters had to put out some rooftop fires and there were repeated outbreaks of fire near Mauna Kea resorts.

The National Weather Service said Hurricane Dora, which passed south of the island chain, was partly to blame for the strong winds.

About 14,500 customers in Maui were without power early Wednesday.

With cellular and phone lines going down in some areas, many people had difficulty checking in with friends and family members who lived near the wildfires.

Some posted messages on social media.

Tiare Lawrence was desperately trying to reach her siblings, who live near the site of a gas station explosion in Lahaina.

“There’s no service, so we can’t reach anyone,” she said of the Maui community of Pukalani.

Acting Governor Sylvia Luke said the blazes were wiping out communities and urged travelers to stay away.

“This is not a safe place,” she said.

Luke issued a declaration of emergency on behalf of traveling governor Josh Green. Green’s office said he cut short his trip and returned Wednesday night.

The fires in Hawaii are different from many fires in the western United States.

They tend to erupt in large grasslands on the dry sides of the islands and are generally much smaller than mainland fires.

A major fire on the Big Island in 2021 burned down homes and forced thousands to evacuate.

Yasso, who fled her home with her boyfriend Kawaakoa, said residents would need time to regroup and that people should not plan to visit now.

“Everyone loses their memories of growing up,” she said. “It’s the memories for everyone. We all lost our homes as a result.”