At least 36 people have been killed as a result of the wildfires that have torn through Maui, devastating the popular tourist town of Lahaina, authorities said.
Three wildfires started on the Hawaiian island earlier this week and had been fanned by the arrival of Hurricane Dora on Tuesday. The cause of the wildfires hasn’t been determined.
More than 271 structures have been damaged or destroyed and at least 1,000 acres of Maui’s Upcountry, an agricultural inland area that includes Haleakala National Park, have been charred. Power has been knocked out across the west of Maui.
Search-and-rescue efforts are under way, bolstered by a federal team, and evacuations have been ordered in 13 communities and towns. Helicopters have been dropping water over Lahaina to contain the blazes. State and county authorities have urged tourists to stay away or leave if they can.
Smoke and fire caused people to flee to the ocean on Wednesday, Maui County officials said.
Wildfires and other forms of extreme weather have ravaged several regions of the world this summer. Blazes have swept across Greece, Portugal and Canada, while China has contended with extreme flooding and a searing heat wave. July was the world’s hottest month on record.
Videos of the Maui blazes posted online show flames on both sides of a single lane of fleeing vehicles. Buildings, palm trees and cars are engulfed in flames. Others show wind-whipped walls of fire and smoke spreading through Lahaina.
Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke issued an emergency proclamation Wednesday encouraging the suspension of all nonessential air travel to Maui. Luke, who is serving as acting governor while Gov. Josh Green returns from a trip, activated Hawaii’s National Guard to help with response efforts.
Three wildfires were also burning on the island of Hawaii on Wednesday, though authorities didn’t report any deaths there.
Authorities said they had prepared for the arrival of Hurricane Dora on Tuesday but not for the wildfires that followed.
Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara, adjutant general of Hawaii’s Department of Defense, said the wildfires were fueled by long-running dry conditions, low humidity and high winds.
Maui is the second-most visited Hawaiian island, after Oahu. There were nearly 1.5 million visitors to Maui in the first half of the year, up 5.7% from the same period in 2022, according to the state’s Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. Total visitor spending during that time was $3.47 billion, up about 25% from last year.
“It will be a long road to recovery,” Luke said in a press conference. “We are just so deeply saddened by the tragedy on Maui, especially for individuals who lost family and friends.”