From Yahoo:
“Wildfires on Hawaii’s Maui island: Evacuations, high winds
fueling flames, emergency services down — here's what we know”
The Big Island and Maui's town of Lahaina have been affected
by wildfires fanned by Hurricane Dora’s powerful winds. Hawaiian wildfires rage
as powerful winds from Hurricane Dora fuel blazes. At least six people were
killed on the island of Maui on Wednesday after ferocious winds caused by
Hurricane Dora in part fueled devastating wildfires across Hawaii, officials
said. Mayor Richard Bissen Jr. said "we are still in a search and rescue
mode," and added that several people were unaccounted for.
Acting Gov. Sylvia Luke issued an emergency proclamation
after what she called the “unprecedented wildfires,” which started on Tuesday,
continued to spread on the islands of Hawaii (known as the Big Island) and
Maui. “The safety of our residents is paramount, and this emergency
proclamation will activate the Hawaiʻi National Guard to support emergency
responders in the impacted communities,” Luke said in a statement. The National
Guard was immediately activated. As the fires continued into Wednesday, Maui’s
hospitals became overwhelmed with patients suffering from fire-related injuries
and illnesses. Schools were shut around the island and thousands of residents
were left without power after dozens of utility poles were downed. It wasn’t
immediately clear what caused the wildfires, but Jeff Powell, a meteorologist
in Honolulu, said they were sparked “kind of because of Hurricane Dora, but
it’s not a direct result.” Hurricane Dora, which is expected to pass western
Johnston Island on Wednesday, passed 700 miles south of Honolulu and created
winds of 130 mph on Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center said.
(A wildfire burns in Lahaina, Hawaii, on the island of Maui
on Wednesday.)
The National Weather Services warned of wind speeds as high
as 60 mph and alerted those in the affected areas to expect power outages and
difficulty traveling. The NWS said that “very dry conditions” and “potentially
damaging easterly winds” would continue the “dangerous fire weather conditions”
into Wednesday afternoon. “The fire can be a mile or more from your house, but
in a minute or two, it can be at your house,” Maui County fire assistant chief
Jeff Giesea said. “The fact that we have wildfires in multiple areas as a
result of indirectly from a hurricane is unprecedented; it's something that
Hawaii residents and the state have not experienced,” Luke said.
(Smoke and flames from raging wildfires fill the air on Front
Street in downtown Lahaina, Hawaii.)
Swaths of land on the Big Island and Maui, as well as town
buildings and infrastructure, have been damaged from the fires. Videos shared
on social media show parts of the historic town of Lahaina in Maui County, a
community that is home to 12,000 people, engulfed in flames. A dozen Lahaina
residents were forced to escape the fires by jumping into the surrounding sea.
The U.S. Coast Guard launched a rescue operation to save those in the water. “Multiple
structures have burned and multiple evacuations are in place, as firefighter
crews continue battling brush and structure fires in Upcountry and Lahaina
areas,” county officials said. In the last 24 hours, patients, including one
firefighter, suffering from fire-related illnesses and emergencies have packed
hospitals in Maui. Strong winds from the hurricane have cut off 911 emergency
and cellphone services, Luke said. At least 10 schools on the island have
closed following the continued spread of brush fires while one, located in
Central Maui, remains open as an evacuation shelter. According to
PowerOutage.us, more than 14,000 in Hawaii are still without electricity. "It's
definitely one of the more challenging days for our island, given that it's
multiple fires, multiple evacuations in the different district areas,"
Mahina Martin, a spokesperson from Maui County, said.
^ This is so sad to see and hear. ^
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