Update: Following the initial report of catastrophic wildfires on the island, Maui County provided a subsequent update, revealing that the number of casualties has now reached 55 individuals, a tragic increase from 36, as was confirmed on Thursday.
This update issued by Maui County follows an earlier public statement by the county earlier on the same Thursday, stating that containment measures have successfully controlled 80% of the fire in Lahaina, along with 70% suppression of the fire in Pulehu.
Previously: Raging and perilous wildfires in Hawaii have prompted evacuations and power outages impacting thousands.
The extensive inferno laid waste to a significant portion of Lahaina, a town of historical significance on Maui, compelling certain individuals to flee toward the harbor in search of refuge.
A statement from Maui County on Wednesday night confirmed that the fires claimed the lives of at least 36 individuals.
Dry conditions and strong winds have sparked “apocalyptic” wildfires in Maui
Image credits: Ginger_Zee
Image credits: modernnotoriety
Image credits: modernnotoriety
“We started smelling the smoke, and that’s when we knew we had trouble,” shared Steve Scott, a resident of Maui. “It came, and it came quick.” He described how they were trapped due to unprecedented wind conditions before managing to escape. “I was trapped,” he said. “We had to run to the harbor.”
Another resident Malika Dudley recounted her middle-of-the-night evacuation experience with her two children saying: “We got a call from our neighbor who said, ‘Get out of your house.’ And we looked out the window and there was a red glow outside of our window… The fire was right above our property.”
A state of emergency has been declared as fires rage, leading to at least 36 fatalities and countless injuries
Image credits: modernnotoriety
🚨🚨🚨Turn up the sound & listen to the terror of these poor folks fleeing the Maui wildfires.
Don’t turn a blind eye.
These are REAL people dying in the climate crisis.
“I want you to act as if our house is on fire. Because it is.”
-Greta Thunbergpic.twitter.com/Jm0cweooMK
— Nathan Mackenzie Brown 🔬🌎 (@NathanMackBrown) August 9, 2023
Another video- Video of the destruction on Front Street, a historic site in West Maui.
Oh God, please forgive our mistakes and save us, please.#Maui #Lahaina #lahainafire #MauiFires #Hawaii #Hawaiifire #wildfires pic.twitter.com/EDUxBYCEJ7
— Chaudhary Parvez (@ChaudharyParvez) August 10, 2023
Image credits: modernnotoriety
Amid the turmoil, rescue operations are in progress, as several individuals remain unaccounted for
Image credits: modernnotoriety
Image credits: modernnotoriety
The wildfire crisis continues unabated in Haliimaile on Haleakalā’s slopes where Dudley can still see flames growing and spreading.
Scott expressed his despair over this disaster, especially for Front Street in downtown Lahaina which was just beginning its recovery post-COVID-19 pandemic.
Image credits: kaleidakanak
Image credits: kaleidakanak
everything… is just gone 😭
my kids will never get to experience front street/lahaina town like we did.
this is fucken heartbreaking 😭💔 pic.twitter.com/C1gxxCOS7Z— 𝓀𝒶𝓁ℯ𝒾𝒶𝓁ℴ𝒽𝒶 (@kaleidakanak) August 9, 2023
People on the sidelines were heartbroken seeing the scale and destruction of the wildfires
Image credits: IamThatCeej
Image credits: Zoejkjhb
Image credits: JeffJones713972
Image credits: UWMoose
Image credits: Joecroce3
Locals have highlighted valid arguments regarding the misguided attitudes of tourists who clearly lack genuine empathy
Image credits: kalekanaeholo
Image credits: kawailenaa_
Image credits: KanielaIng
Image credits: shinyfletchling
Image credits: shinyfletchling
Image credits: renmaicha
This is devastating. Thousands of people are now without homes and without jobs, irreplaceable historical items and art lost, not to mention the tragic loss of lives.
The big spot of green on the right-hand side of the last “before” photo is a beautiful old (150 years) banyan tree. Its current condition is unknown, but it appears to have been badly burned. Let’s hope it can be saved somehow.
I saw some drone footage earlier, I'd say it's actually pretty likely it'll recover. Keeping my fingers crossed.
For those of us who have lived through bushfires (wildfires) these photos bring back horrible memories. And unfortunately it never means just once in a lifetime. All of us in eastern Australia are dreading what the next few months will bring as we head into summer on the back of dry winter
apparently theres a pretty high chance we get the bad fires again
I hope not! Here in California we haven’t had a very active fire season… yet.
Sorry, Canadian here with little faith in things getting any better until some very serious actions are put in place which will require loads of labor, money, alotta resources.
This is devastating. Thousands of people are now without homes and without jobs, irreplaceable historical items and art lost, not to mention the tragic loss of lives.
The big spot of green on the right-hand side of the last “before” photo is a beautiful old (150 years) banyan tree. Its current condition is unknown, but it appears to have been badly burned. Let’s hope it can be saved somehow.
I saw some drone footage earlier, I'd say it's actually pretty likely it'll recover. Keeping my fingers crossed.
For those of us who have lived through bushfires (wildfires) these photos bring back horrible memories. And unfortunately it never means just once in a lifetime. All of us in eastern Australia are dreading what the next few months will bring as we head into summer on the back of dry winter
apparently theres a pretty high chance we get the bad fires again
I hope not! Here in California we haven’t had a very active fire season… yet.
Sorry, Canadian here with little faith in things getting any better until some very serious actions are put in place which will require loads of labor, money, alotta resources.