Wind-whipped wildfires raced through parts of Hawaii, destroying homes and businesses in a historic town on the island of Maui, injuring several people, forcing evacuations and leading some to flee to the relative safety of the ocean.
Fire was widespread in Lahaina Town, including on Front Street, a shopping and dining area that is popular with tourists, County of Maui spokesperson Mahina Martin said by phone early Wednesday. Traffic has been very heavy as people try to evacuate the area, and officials asked people who weren’t in an evacuation area to shelter in place to avoid adding to the traffic, she said.
The National Weather Service said Hurricane Dora, which was passing to the south of the island chain at a safe distance of 500 miles , was partly to blame for gusts above 60 mph that knocked out power, rattled homes and grounded firefighting helicopters. The strong winds were expected to diminish later Wednesday, but there was little chance of rain to aid firefighters, the weather service said.
Acting Gov. Sylvia Luke issued an emergency proclamation on behalf of Gov. Josh Green, who is traveling, and activated the Hawaii National Guard to assist. Kahului Airport, the main airport in Maui, was sheltering 2,000 travelers whose flights were canceled or who recently arrived on the island, the county said.
Because of the wind gusts on Maui, helicopters weren’t able to dump water on the fires or get aerial estimates of the fire sizes, and firefighters were encountering roads blocked by downed trees and power lines as they worked the inland fires, Martin said.“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,” Martin said.
Big Island Mayor Mitch Roth told Hawaii News Now that a few fires were still burning Wednesday on the island, but that there was “minimal damage” to any homes.
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