Hawaii wildfires: Six deaths confirmed as blazes engulf Maui

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Six people have died and more have been injured by wildfires sweeping the Hawaiian island of Maui, officials say.

Thousands are without power or cell phone service due to fires that are being fuelled by winds from a nearby hurricane in the Pacific Ocean.

Several blazes are also burning on the Big Island, also known as Hawaii island, a neighbouring island to Maui.

Officials say search and rescue efforts are still ongoing. But they warn that the death toll may rise.

Authorities have evacuated neighbourhoods, closed roads, and opened shelters to host thousands of evacuees.

An emergency order has been signed discouraging people from coming to Maui, which is a popular tourist destination.

 

"We have shelters that are overrun, we have resources that are being taxed, we are doing whatever we can" for local residents, the state Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke said during a news briefing on Wednesday morning local time.

 

On Maui, about 4,000 visitors are trying to leave the island, said state transportation official Ed Sniffen.

Thousands there are also without cell service, due to about 29 power poles collapsing. The full scale of the damages to homes and businesses is not yet clear, officials say.

Maj Gen Kenneth S Hara, who is in charge of the emergency response, said the priority at the moment is "saving lives, preventing human suffering, and mitigating great property loss".

 

 

FULLL STORY

[hotchilli]

Paradise just got ugly.

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[John Drake]

9 hours ago, Social Media said:

Six people have died and more have been injured by wildfires sweeping the Hawaiian island of Maui, officials say.

Better, more up to date story here:

 https://www.staradvertiser.com/2023/08/09/breaking-news/massive-wildfires-devastate-lahaina-wreak-havoc-across-2-islands/

[Tropposurfer]

Heavy heavy heavy!  RIP to the poor souls that got cooked ????

 

Welcome to the reality of the planet warming.

 

Fires create their own weather once they get big enough, drawing in all the oxygen from around thus exponentially increasing the wind vortex that makes the fires burn even hotter and moving even faster looking for fuel to continue to burn.

 

Trees exploding, metal melting, tyres exploding, roads melting, people being cooked like a roast in an oven.

 

As an Aussie wild fires like this are part of the DNA.

 

The power and force of a wild fire is so overwhelmingly terrifying, fast moving, and unstoppable.

 

We had shockers in 2019 with Sydney covered in the ash, red yellow light, the sun blocked by smoke from fires to the west dangerous to breathe and temps in the late 30's to 40's every day for days and days.

 

[Tug]

36 dead at last count my estranged older sister lives on the island I hope she is ok very sad ???? 

[Bkk Brian]

Death count rising.

 

Maui fires live updates: 53 dead as wildfires scorch sacred Hawaiian land

The death toll from the wildfires on Maui has climbed to 53, officials said.

Seventeen additional deaths were discovered in the wildfire that struck Lahaina, a town of around 12,000 in western Maui, raising the number of confirmed deaths from the previous number of 36, Maui County said.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/maui-fires-live-updates-thousands-flee-unprecedented-disaster-rcna99164#rcrd16612

[Bkk Brian]

Flash drought, invasive grasses, winds, hurricane and climate change fuel Maui’s devastating fires

 

 

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