Environment Hawaii: 36 confirmed dead: federal and local officials give updates on Maui fires (Update: 89 dead)

[tom_mai78101]

HONOLULU (KITV4) -- Local and federal officials gave a live update on the Maui fires, what resources are available, and what to expect in the coming days, on Wednesday at Oahu's Hawaii Convention Center.

As of Wednesday, August 9, Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen confirms 36 are dead from the Maui wildfire devastation.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved the state's request for a disaster declaration.

"Many families are struggling right now, and we want to send our aloha to them, and prayers to them. We are set up to accommodate 2,000 people [on Oahu]," says James Tokioka, Director of Dept of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. "Many hotels here that weren't full are now full. People are going straight from the airport and to their accommodations -- that's a good thing."

"The rest of the state is open - Kauai has rooms. We want to make sure there is other accommodations available," says Tokioka. "Local residents on Maui -- the Convention Center [on Oahu] is open to them as well. We have showers and cots available."

36 confirmed dead: federal and local officials give updates on Maui fires

Local and federal officials gave an update on the Maui fires, what resources are available, and what to expect in the coming days, Wednesday at Oahu's Hawaii Convention Center.

www.kitv.com

 

[The Helper]

I had no idea the winds were so high. Watch this video for a minute and look at the trees in the background no wonder it is spreading so much!

 

[tom_mai78101]

Death toll from Maui wildfire reaches 89, making it the deadliest in the US in more than 100 years


LAHAINA, Hawaii — A fire that swept through a picturesque town in Maui this week has killed at least 89 people, authorities said Saturday, making it the deadliest U.S. wildfire of the past century.

The newly released figure surpassed the toll of the 2018 Camp Fire in northern California, which left 85 dead. A century earlier, the 1918 Cloquet Fire broke out in drought-stricken northern Minnesota and raced through a number of rural communities, destroying thousands of homes and killing hundreds.

At least two other fires have been burning in Maui, with no fatalities reported thus far: in south Maui’s Kihei area and in the mountainous, inland communities known as Upcountry. A fourth broke out Friday evening in Kaanapali, a coastal community in West Maui north of Lahaina, but crews were able to extinguish it, authorities said.

Death toll from Maui wildfire reaches 93, making it the deadliest in the US in more than 100 years: Live updates

Authorities warned that the effort to find and identify the dead in the devastating Maui wildfires was still in its early stages

www.usatoday.com