The massive wildfire that engulfed the resort town of Lahaina in the US state of Hawaiis Maui island has taken the lives of at least 53 people as of Thursday, with the death toll expected to rise further, a report by the news agency Reuters said.The fast-moving inferno in Lahaina town has been almost 80% contained, the Maui County officials said in a statement, with firefighters securing the perimeters of the wildfire.Hawaii, the 50th state of the US, was taken by surprise by the outbreak of three consecutive fires on Tuesday across Lahaina, Kihei, and Kula, with the first one being the worst natural disaster to hit the state, Governor Josh Green said.Before and after photographs of the fire damage in Lahaina, Maui.Absolutely devastating. pic.twitter.com/rYfLYN2bAg— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) August 10, 2023Passenger plane captures devastating wildfires happening in Lahaina, Hawaii pic.twitter.com/uivFCUE0tD— Latest in space (@latestinspace) August 10, 2023Front Street Lahaina from the ground. Everything is gone #lahainafire pic.twitter.com/zzEkbvPa31— Nohead (@nohea_d) August 9, 2023“We will need to rebuild the entirety of Lahaina, I believe,” Governor Green told KHON 2 television channel.“Its going to take many years to rebuild Lahaina,” he later said told a news conference. “It will be a new Lahaina that Maui builds in its own image with its own values.”Most of the resort town – which attracts about 2 million tourists each year, amounting to 80% of Hawaiis tourists – has been reduced to smouldering ruins, with more than 270 structures being damaged or completely destroyed.The fate of some of Lahainas cultural landmarks is still unknown a historic 60-foot-tall banyan tree marking the spot where the palace of 19th century palace of the third King of Hawaii, Kamehameha III, stood, was reportedly still standing, even though some of its boughs were charred.Talking about rescuing the cultural treasures from the fire damage, Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said, “Understand this – Lahaina town is hallowed, sacred ground right now. We have to get them [cultural remains] out.”Lahaina – Maui, Hawaii is basically gone. Heartbreaking. pic.twitter.com/VQcmiGkSvZ— Nahel Belgherze (@WxNB_) August 9, 2023While the exact cause of the extensive wildfires across Hawaii is yet to be determined, the National Weather Service said that dry vegetation, strong winds, and low humidity were some of the primary factors.Maui visitors detail Hawaii wildfire horrorsThe sudden and rapid spread of the wildfires took thousands of tourists across Mauis Lahaina by surprise, with many resorting to jumping into the Pacific Ocean to escape the flames. Many tourists have camped at the airport, trying to escape the burning areas.Vixay Phonxaylinkham, a tourist from Fresno, California, said that he was trapped on the Front Street in Lahaina in a rental car along with his wife and children, as the wildfire approached them. Phonxaylinkham and his family were forced to abandon the car and jump into the ocean.“We floated around four hours. It was a vacation that turned into a nightmare. I heard explosions everywhere, I heard screaming, and some people didnt make it. I feel so sad,” he said while waiting in the airport to catch a flight off the island.Wildfires have burned historic Hawaii town Lahaina to the ground, at least 36 people lost their lives and 11,000 have been evacuated. Dont skip this post without leaving a heart for Hawaii. pic.twitter.com/wFo12czpxT— Mohamad Safa (@mhdksafa) August 10, 2023The fire has burned almost all the belongings of tourists and residents alike, and the newly homeless people are being put up in hotels and tourist rental properties by the authorities.Nicoangelo Knickerbocker, a 21-year-old resident of Lahaina, said, “It was so hot all around me, I felt like my shirt was about to catch on fire. It sounded like a war was going on.”Knickerbocker, staying at one of the four emergency shelters opened by the Hawaii authorities, said that he heard cars and a gas station explode, which forced him and his father to leave the town with just one piece of clothes with them and their family dog.The Maui fire that tore through Lahaina is one of the worst wildfire disasters in US history.The town of 12,000 people is virtually destroyed, with at least 53 dead and many more missing. More than 1,700 structures have been destroyed, including entire neighborhoods. Maui is… pic.twitter.com/AoCUyAgVGp— Colin McCarthy (@US_Stormwatch) August 11, 2023Dr Gerald Tariao Montano, a paediatrician who volunteered to treat the injured in Hawaii, said that most people who arrived at the shelter had an empty look on their faces. “Some havent fully grasped that they lost everything,” he said, appealing for donations of clothes, supplies, food, baby formula and diapers.
