Historic Hawaii town of Lahaina is in ruins after massive wildfires

The utter devastation in Hawaii’s idyllic historic town has been laid bare after massive wildfires ripped through the tourist hotspot, burning everything in its path to ashes. The Maui wildfires have claimed six lives and seriously injured 20 people in an “unprecedented” disaster for Lahaina, and the infernos have left cell service without and families stranded. Some 4,000 tourists are also believed to be stuck on the island desperate to leave before the fires spread further. There are also three wildfires burning on the Big Island. Historic Hawaii town of Lahaina is in ruins after massive wildfires rip through the tourist hotspot.

People have been seen throwing themselves into the ocean to escape the flames. Joe Biden called for federal help reaching Hawaii on Wednesday night, saying the US Coast Guard, Navy 3rd Fleet and US Marine Corps are supporting response and rescue efforts. . All tourists are expected to flock to the Kahului airport, where 2,000 people slept overnight in a shelter, in the coming days. Mayor Richard Bissen Jr confirmed the devastating deaths: ‘I am saddened to report that just before we started this, it was confirmed that we have had 6 deaths. We are still in a search and rescue mode.

“We have had a lot of homes (businesses, structures) burn, many of them to the ground. “As a result of three fires that have occurred and continue here on our island, we have had 13 evacuations from different neighborhoods and towns, we have had 16 road closures, we have opened five shelters.” The city of Lahaina is almost destroyed. Devastating videos showed desperate residents jumping into the harbor to avoid the flames last night.

12,627 Hawaiians have no power and the fires continue. James Kunane Tokioka, the state’s director of business, economic development and tourism, said: ‘The local people have lost everything. “They’ve lost their home, they’ve lost their animals and it’s devastating.” The National Weather Service has warned that more destruction is on the way. Initiating a red flag warning, he said Wednesday afternoon: “Very dry fuels combined with strong, gusty easterly winds and low humidity will produce critical fire weather conditions during the evening hours.”

US President Joe Biden said in a statement: “Jill and I send our deepest condolences to the families of those who lost loved ones in the Maui wildfires, and our prayers go out to those who have seen their homes, businesses and communities destroyed. We are grateful to the brave firefighters and first responders who continue to run into danger, putting themselves in danger to save lives.

“I have directed that all available federal assets in the Islands assist with the response. The Hawaii National Guard has mobilized Chinook helicopters to assist with firefighting and search and rescue on the island of Maui. ‘The US Coast Guard and Navy Third Fleets are supporting response and rescue efforts. US Marines are providing Black Hawk helicopters to fight the fires on the Big Island.

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Historic Hawaii town of Lahaina is in ruins after massive wildfires rip

The Department of Transportation is working with commercial airlines to evacuate tourists from Maui, and the US Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture stand ready to support post-fire recovery efforts. “I urge all residents to continue to follow evacuation orders, listen to instructions from first responders and officials, and remain vigilant.”

Victoria Wayne-Bowley was born and raised in the historic city of Lahaina. This morning, the Hawaiian native woke up to non-stop phone calls from desperate friends and family who claimed her homes had burned down or were under threat from the devastating fires that have ravaged Maui. “Everyone is sleep deprived without knowing where their loved ones are. I would never have imagined this kind of catastrophe. It is the most devastating disaster in Maui history,” Wayne Bowley told DailyMail.com.

All of Lahaina is a complete wasteland. There were people whose only option was to jump into the ocean, while the coast guard rushed to help them. It looks like Hiroshima. “Literally people were driving to dinner last night like everything was safe and in a short period of time within 24 hours this happened,” said Wayne-Bowley, who lived in Lahaina for 25 years before moving to New Jersey. , but still travels to Maui. regularly for work.

Wayne-Bowley and his family run a popular island-wide clothing company called the Maui Clothing Company with about 70 employees. As of this afternoon, the use of cell phones was questionable or no longer viable due to the fires. Her father, Edward Wayne, founded the business in 1982, which has grown to 14 stores. Three of which are under immediate threat.

‘We still can’t get in touch with our employees. No one can be reached in the Lahaina area,” Wayne-Bowley explained. “I have been communicating through email, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. “I am 99% sure our original store on Front Street in Lahaina burned down today. My parents opened it in 1982, the year I was born. Previously called Lobster & Roses, the name was changed to Maui Clothing Company.

“Our two other stores, Maui WaterWear and Cruise Maui Boutique, are located in another shopping area called Whalers Village in Kaanapali, which is also under threat.” Both places are Lahaina’s most popular tourist destinations for shopping. “It is really sad to see this scale of devastation. We have family and friends who opened restaurants and stores decades ago, only to be destroyed. There are historical landmarks that have been burned.”

“We don’t know all the details, but these are nostalgic places that people have gone to for the last 50 years and are no longer there.” ‘I feel sad. It’s devastating. It’s tragic and heartbreaking. You feel like everyone is your family on the island and everyone treats each other like family.”

A long-time friend and well-known dermatologist in Lahaina, Dr. George Martin narrowly escaped the deadly fire that broke out just 1/4 mile away from his ranch with one hundred animals. “Our close friend, Dr. Martin, has close to a hundred animals, horses, chickens, ponies. He had to evacuate them all in the end, and luckily people from other parts of the island offered to help. That’s how people are here. Everyone is helping out and posting messages online saying they have land and to bring their animals.”

A despondent local shared a heartbreaking Instagram post that read: “My brother says there are bodies on the ground in Lahaina.” Overnight, the fires toppled cell phone towers, knocked out 911 services and made it impossible for many residents to access the Internet or communicate. Governor Josh Green, who was in Boston at the time of the fires, is now on his way back to the islands. He is scheduled to arrive at midnight.

“We have suffered a terrible disaster in the form of a wildfire that has spread widely as a result of hurricane force winds in the region and underlying dry conditions. Maui and the Big Island experienced significant fires. “Much of Lāhainā on Maui has been destroyed and hundreds of local families have been displaced.”

Devastating aerial video shows the extent of the damage in Lahaina, where thousands of locals fled in the dead of night to escape being trapped. Claire Kent, who was among those who took to the water in boats, said she had lost “everything.” I’m out of Lahaina, safe with some friends in Waiehu. My home is gone, my city is gone, my job is gone. We lost everything.

‘This is the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced. So incredibly devastated. Multiple burn patients were flown from Maui to Honolulu today for treatment as the ‘apocalyptic’ flames continued. It has not been confirmed if the fires have claimed lives. A woman in her 60s was airlifted to Honolulu in critical condition. The fires, fanned by strong winds from Hurricane Dora, have burned structures, forced evacuations and caused power outages in several communities.

The worst of the fires is on Maui. One is burning down parts of north Wailea, where resort hotels like the Four Seasons and Hilton dot the beach, and another has destroyed the town of Lahaina. A worker at the Four Seasons Wailea told DailyMail.com that the resort has not been affected, apart from “some air quality issues”. The $990-a-night hotel is where the first season of The White Lotus was filmed.

In Lahaina, a city of about 12,000, desperate locals jumped into the water at the harbor to escape the flames. Twelve people were rescued from the waves by boats. Kahului Airport, the main airport on the island of Maui, is still open and operational, but is now used as a shelter for 1,800 people fleeing their homes. “This is an unprecedented disaster as an indirect result of Hurricane Dora just to the south of our island. “It is truly devastating and my heart goes out to the residents of Maui and all those affected,”

It is truly devastating and my heart goes out to the residents of Maui and everyone affected,’ Lieutenant Governor Sylvie Luke said this morning. There is a fire in Kula, in central Maui, near where Oprah recently purchased hundreds of acres of land. 911 services in most of Maui are offline due to downed cell phone towers, hampering evacuation efforts as doctors and nurses struggle to cope with the number of burn victims flocking to it.

‘This is unprecedented. “An emergency at night is terrifying… everyone is working right now and we’re looking forward to sunrise,” Maui County spokeswoman Mahina Martin said in the early hours of the morning. “We are already in communication with other hospital systems to ease the burden; the reality is that we need to get people out of Maui to provide burn support because the Maui hospital cannot do extensive burn treatment.

“In addition to dealing with the disaster, we’re also dealing with major transportation issues,” she told CNN on Wednesday. 911 is down. Cell service is down. Phone service is down. That has been part of the problem.’Maui County has not been able to communicate with residents on the west side, the Lahaina side.Read More……