In photos: Before-and-after images show extent of destruction in Lahaina
Stark before-and-after pictures show charred remains of areas in Lahaina on Maui after wildfires ravaged the town.
Here's what the area around Lahaina Shores Beach Resort looked like prior to the fires:
Now, widespread destruction can be seen surrounding the resort:
This is King Kamehameha III Elementary School and the surrounding area as it looked before the fires:
Now, here's what remains:
"All my 50 years oflife is completely burnt to the ground," Maui resident says after evacuating
From CNN's Aditi Sangal
La Phena Davis is one of the many Maui residents who have lost their homes and communities to wildfires on the island.
Davis said she could see the fire on the mountainside from her bedroom window in Lahaina yesterday afternoon. An hour later, she said the wildfire smoke had made its way from the mountains to the ocean.
"But never in a million years did I think that fire would reach our home," she told CNN. "It was such a black, thick smoke that we immediately just left our homes. We barely grabbed anything. I literally didn't grab any clothes."
"I grabbed my important papers, buteverything that we owned, and you know, in all my 50 years oflife is completely burnt to the ground," Davis said.
Now in the town of Kihei, she said she is "in limbo and a little bit numb." There is a"lot of processing and unraveling" to come fromthis "extremely traumatic experience" for the whole community that she has now lost, she said.
Her family's great-grandparents, grandparents and grandchildren who lived in their home are displaced and homeless, she said. "We are just one home of hundreds of people that are in that situation," she added.
"There is absolutely nothing leftof our neighborhood," she said.
"It is not just the loss ofthe home, but it is the loss ofour entire community, ourtown that we have known it to befor generations.It's completely devastating. We are shook to our core,and it's not something thatanybody can wrap any thoughts orreal emotions around it rightnow," Davis told CNN.
Watch her interview:
FEMA is seeing widespread devastation across several neighborhoods, official says
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is seeing "widespread devastation across many different neighborhoods in Maui," FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told CNN on Thursday.
With most of the fires still burning out of control, the agency's presence has been limited by the small size of the island, the FEMA official said.
FEMA is "limited in our ability to where can put people, because it is isolated as an island," Criswell said on "CNN News Central." "So we're going to work closely with the state to understand what resources they need and what types of creative solutions we're going to have to bring in."
So far, the agency has been working on increasing connectivity on the island — where residents have reported a lack of cell phone service — and have provided meals for 5,000 people for up to five days, with plans to roll out more resources as needed, Criswell said.
The FEMA administrator deferred to state officials for specific counts, but said it was clear that thousands of people have been displaced by the fires.
Criswell likened the situation on the island to the Boulder, Colorado wildfire of 2021, which was also driven by excessive winds that allowed the blaze to spread very rapidly.
FAA restricts airspace near Maui wildfires
From CNN's Pete Muntean
The federal government is keeping flights away from the Maui wildfires in Hawaii.
The Federal Aviation Administration has posted a trio of temporary flight restrictions near the fire-devastated town of Lahaina.
The largest restriction is offshore Lahaina “to provide a safe environment for rescue.” Some in the town reportedly fled from the fast-moving fire by jumping into the ocean.The Coast Guard's Capt. Aja Kirksey told CNN that while there have been no additional reports of people in the water, she has instructed her teams to operate as though there are still potential survivors in need of assistance or victims that need to be recovered.
The two other temporary flight restrictions are over the areas of Kihei and Kula “to provide a safe environment” for firefighters.
Maui restaurant owner says there is “nothing left” of the once bustling town of Lahaina
From CNN's Matt Meyer
The owner of a popular restaurant in the town of Lahaina, an economic and tourism hub on Maui, told CNN that some of her business' employees are sleeping in their cars with family as they search for shelter, while others remain unaccounted for.
The restaurant, Cheeseburger in Paradise, was destroyed by the wildfires raging on the island, along with the majority of town.
Owner Laren Gartner is watching the destruction and trying to coordinate with employees from her location in California, though she hopes to travel to the island as soon as she can safely do so, she said on "CNN News Central" Thursday.
Between the restaurant and a brewery, which was also destroyed, Gartner's businesses employ 80 to 120 people. She is still trying to coordinate with many of them.
"There is no cell phone (service), there's no electricity, there's no devices to be used anywhere. We don't know where our employees are," Gartner told CNN.
"We have some people sleeping in their cars on the side of the highway with their families, their animals — and we haven't been able to find them," she added.
Gartner said she has begun to see images of the town's destruction for the first time.
"Lahaina looks like a bomb went off. There is nothing left. The entire village has been turned into rubble," she told CNN.
The restaurant owner says she isn't sure whether her team will be able to rebuild the businesses. Her top priority right now, she said, was confirming the well-being of her employees.
"We're going to need help from America," Gartner said, mentioning that fundraising efforts for the business' employees were underway.
More than 50 people who fled flames by running into ocean were rescued by Coast Guard
From CNN's Aditi Sangal
The US Coast Guard said it rescued 17 survivors and assisted in recovering 40 others off the shore of Lahaina as wildfires have spread in Maui since Tuesday.
"On Tuesday night, as the Lahaina brush fire really rapidly spread west and engulfed the downtown Lahaina area, the Coast Guard began receiving reports of people who had to flee the flames and the smoke all the way down to shore line and ultimately into the water off of Lahaina," according to Capt. Aja Kirksey, commander of the Honolulu sector of the US Coast Guard.
"Initial reports of people in the water were around a hundred," she told CNN.
CNN on Wednesday reported that the wildfires had spurred some people to jump into the ocean to escape the danger.
The 17 people rescued by the guard were taken to Coast Guard Station Maui, while the 40 others were taken to a nearby location for further evacuation, Kirksey said.
Hazardous conditions also posed major challenges for what Kirksey called the "mass rescue operation."
Helicopters were "unable to make water approaches due to the extremely low visibility that they were encountering," Kirksey said, adding that boats were able to get to uninjured survivors.
The Coast Guard also received "some support from several good Samaritans in that area," she said.
The search-and-rescue response remains the top priority for the Coast Guard, Kirksey said, noting that while there have been no additional reports, she has instructed her teams to operate as though there are still potential survivors in need of assistance or victims that need to be recovered.
Drought worsening in Hawaii, new data shows
From CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar
Drought worsened in Hawaii over the past week, leading to fire spread according to thelatest US drought monitorreleased Thursday morning.
Drier-than-normal conditions have led to an increase in drought levels across Hawaii. Statewide moderate drought levels have increased from 6% to 14% since last week.
Maui County has experienced a significant uptick in severe level drought conditions — from 5% last week to 16% this week.
This map shows areas that are abnormally dry or in drought conditions:
At least 36 dead as devastating wildfires sweep across Maui. Here's what you need to know
From CNN staff
At least 36 people have been killed in Maui County as wildfires sweep across parts of the island, county officials said late Wednesday.
If you're just joining us, catch up on the latest from Hawaii here:
- Among the most devastated areas:Much of the western Maui community of Lahaina, whereabout 12,000 people live, is destroyed and hundreds of families there have been displaced, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said. More than 270 structures have been impacted in Lahaina, county officialssaid. In addition to the homes and businesses that were wiped out, the toll on historical and cultural sites in Lahaina has been devastating, a CNN analysis of new Maxar Technologies satellite imagery shows. The images, taken at 11:03 a.m. local time Wednesday, show that one of the largest banyan trees in the US – the size of an entire city block and more than 60 feet high – has been burnt. It was imported from India in 1873, Hawaii’s Tourism Authority says.
- Some are unaccounted for:Three helicopters from the US Coast Guard and US Navy were used in search and rescue efforts along the west Maui coastline, and a federal team arrived Wednesday tohelp search efforts in the Lahaina area, officials said.
- Cell service out for thousands in Maui:It could takedays or even weeksto fix networks. Officials have been using satellite phones to communicate with providers on the west side of Maui to restore power to the area, Lt. Gov. Sylvia Lukesaid. Emergency and evacuation response efforts have been hampered by widespreadcell service outages, which have prevented people from calling 911 or updating loved ones about their status, according to authorities.
- Power outages:More than 11,000 customers on Maui were without power as of 11 p.m. Wednesday local time (5 a.m. ET Thursday), according toPowerOutage.us, accounting for about 15% of the island’s customers. Power crews are working to repair downed lines and additional crews are being deployed from Oahu, Hawaiian Electric said in anews release.
- Many in shelters:More than 2,100 people were in four emergency shelters in Maui on Tuesday night, the mayor’s officesaid. While there’s enough shelter for an emergency response for a few days, “there’s not enough shelter for long term living,” the governor told CNN.
- Visitors urged to leave:Maui County officials areaskingvisitors to leave Lahaina and Maui as soon as possible, noting seats were available on outgoing flights. More than 11,000 people were flown out of Maui on Wednesday, according to Hawaii Department of Transportation director Ed Sniffen. Hawaii Gov. Josh Green strongly discouraged nonessential travel to Maui, but a tourism official of the island state emphasized that other parts of Hawaii, such as Oahu and Waikiki are still open and have occupancy.
- Hospitals overwhelmed:Hospitals on Maui were overwhelmed with burn patients and people suffering from smoke inhalation, Luke told CNN Wednesday. Some patients should be taken elsewhere because Maui hospitals aren’t equipped for extensive burn treatment, but transportation challenges have made that difficult, Luke said.
- Here's how you can help Hawaii wildfire victims:Clickhereto support relief efforts. Impact Your World will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates with more ways to help.
White House is "working very closely with Hawaii" but won't comment on disaster declaration
From CNN's Nikki Carvajal and Priscilla Alvarez
The White House is "working very closely with Hawaii" as the state struggles with devastating wildfires that have left dozens dead Thursday, according to National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications Jon Kirby.
However, he came short of announcing the approval of an emergency declaration.
A White House official told CNN that Hawaii has asked for shelter supplies from FEMA, including water, food, cots, and blankets. FEMA Region 9 Administrator Bob Fenton and his team are in Oahu, and he has mobilized an Incident Management Assistance Team to help with the federal response, the official added.
President Joe Biden is "treating this with all the due gravity and the seriousness that the climate crisis deserves," Kirby said.
Biden, in his statement earlier, had said he has ordered federal assets to assist with wildfire response, pointing to the Hawaiian National Guard that's mobilizing Chinook helicopters “to help with fire suppression and search and rescue on the Island of Maui” as well as response and rescue from the US Coast Guard and Navy fleets. Marines, he added, “are providing Black Hawk Helicopters to fight the fires on the Big Island.”
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said earlier Wednesday he expects to submit a request for a presidential disaster declaration “in the next 36 to 48 hours.” Green said the White House “has been incredibly supportive.”
