At Least 53 Dead in Hawaii After Wildfire Swept Through Historic Maui Town

A swiftly moving wildfire in western Maui on Wednesday has left devastation in its wake, including claiming dozens of lives and annihilating a historic town.

A release issued by Maui County officials revealed late Thursday that the death toll has risen to at least 53 as an additional 17 deaths were confirmed amid raging fires in the Lahaina Town. At least 30 people were also injured, including many who jumped into the harbor to avoid the rapidly advancing flames.

"The status of all three fires remains unchanged from the last update at 10:30 a.m. this morning," officials noted in reference to the Lahaina, Pulehu and Upcountry Maui fires.

The fire also destroyed some 271 structures, including nearly the entire town of Lahaina. Photos from the aftermath showed a smoldering ruin of a town. Lahaina was a popular tourist destination, with parts of the town dating to the 18th century, when for a time it was the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

The fire advanced rapidly across Maui’s dry western uplands on Wednesday, fanned by winds of over 60 miles per hour created by the outermost disturbances of Hurricane Dora, which passed several hundred miles to the south. The incredible winds frustrated efforts to fight the fires as well as for residents and tourists to flee from the flames, with smoke billowing horizontally instead of up into the sky.

"That wind speed, how rapidly that fire moved, that was not anticipated," Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency told reporters.

Meanwhile, authorities are struggling to house thousands of tourists and locals who evacuated from the area. An update by Hawaii Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, US Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and other local leaders on Wednesday night said more than 11,000 tourists had been flown out of Maui and another 600 were being housed at Maui’s Kahului airport. The convention center has also been set up to accommodate visitors needing shelter, but local media reported it wasn’t being used much.

Passengers try to rest and sleep after canceled and delayed flights while others wait to board flights off the island as thousands of passengers were stranded at the Kahului Airport (OGG) in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui in Kahului, Hawaii on August 9, 2023. The death toll from a wildfire that turned a historic Hawaiian town to ashes has risen to 36 people, officials said on August 9.

© AFP 2023 / PATRICK T. FALLON

"The hotels that had occupancy this morning, most of them don't have that occupancy. That tells us that people are going straight from the airport and finding their accommodations and transportation," James Tokioka, director of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, told reporters.

State Department of Transportation Director Ed Sniffen added that airlines had worked with Maui visitors to get them off the island, with both Hawaii Airlines and Southwest Airlines dropping their fares and keeping their airport desks open until 2 am on Thursday.