A wildfire on the Hawaiian island of Maui sent people jumping into the ocean to escape the flames and smoke, forcing evacuations Wednesday, officials said. The Coast Guard told Twintage that a dozen people were rescued in Lahaina who took refuge in the water Tuesday and officials said Wednesday that hospitals on the island were treating burn patients.
The fire spread in Lahaina, a tourist town of 12,000 on Maui’s northwest tip, and Maui County closed several roads in a tweet warning, “Don’t go to Lahaina.”
Traffic became very heavy as people tried to evacuate and officials told people outside the evacuation area to shelter to avoid diverting traffic, a County of Maui spokeswoman Mahina Martin told the Associated Press in a telephone interview Wednesday morning.
Luke gave no figures on the number of casualties but said, “The truth is we flew people in from Maui to provide burn aid.”
Luke, the state’s lieutenant governor, issued an emergency proclamation on behalf of Gov. Josh Green, who is traveling, and activated the Hawaii National Guard.
On the island of Oahu, the Honolulu Department of Emergency Services received burn patients from Maui but spokesman Shane Enright could not provide the number to the Associated Press.
Front Street, an area of Lahaina popular with tourists, was badly hit by the flames.
The Lahaina wildfire was a lot of strong winds in Hawaii, burned several structures, forced evacuations and knocked out power in many neighborhoods as firefighters tried to reach areas with fallen trees and one of the covered power lines Some people who were cut off said and are having trouble evacuating due to gridlock, smoke and incoming flames.
The National Weather Service says Hurricane Dora, which is safely traveling about 500 miles south of the island chain, is expected to unleash overnight winds of more than 60 mph, razing homes and causing fires. Responsible for dispatching firefighting helicopters. Severe fire conditions will continue through Wednesday afternoon due to strong winds and low temperatures, the weather service said.
There is no word on how many buildings were affected by the fire and how many people have been affected by the evacuation, but Martin said four shelters have been opened, with more than 1,000 people in the largest.
Also in Lahaina, a honeymooner made an unlikely request on social media:
“This is unprecedented,” Martin said, noting that many circuits were affected. Emergencies are dangerous at night, and the darkness makes it difficult to see the extent of the damage, he said.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency authorized a disaster declaration to provide help with a hearth that threatened about 2 hundred houses in and round Kohala Ranch, a rural community with a population of more than 500 at the Big Island, according to the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.
When the request turned into made, the fireplace had burned extra than 600 acres and become uncontained. Much of Hawaii become under a purple flag caution that persisted Wednesday, and two other uncontrolled fires had been burning on the Big Island and Maui, officials stated.
Fire crews on Maui were fighting a couple of blazes focused in two regions: the popular tourist destination of West Maui and an inland, mountainous place. In West Maui 911 service changed into now not to be had and residents were directed to name the police department.
