Wildfires are raging across Hawaii’s big island of Maui, sparking evacuations and rescues, and even forcing some people to jump into the ocean to escape.
This morning Breakfast spoke to two Hawaiian residents who escaped from one of the worst affected areas in Lahaina.
Tiare Lawrence recounts being in Kula when the fires started, where she said there were 1000 acres burning in her community.
“This isn't new to West Maui. The combination of wind and drought obviously creates fires, but never at this scale. Never would I imagine that I live through my entire hometown going to dust, and that’s basically what Lahaina is today,” Lawrence said.
She has been unable to contact her siblings though she has heard they are safe.
Six people have died in the fires that have raged across the island of Maui. (Source: Breakfast)
“Unfortunately there’s no cell service available in the West side, so unless they are able to get out of West Maui, we can’t communicate with them at this time,” Lawrence said.
Her cousin, Dustin Kaleiopu, said the fires he witnessed were different to anything he’s seen before.
“Hearing explosions around the neighbourhood and the smoke just kept getting thicker and darker. Finally my neighbours yard had caught on fire and our house was filling up with smoke and we jumped in the car with just the clothes on our backs and rushed to get into a line of cars that we sat in for about two and a half hours before we could safely evacuate Lahaina Town.”
While evacuating felt like a huge relief, the hard part isn’t over yet for rescued residents of Lahaina town.
“I haven’t slept. I’ve been up all night reading every Facebook post and Instagram post, hoping that I can see that my family members are safe," Kaleiopu said.
"Some of them have gone unaccounted for, and we hear reports of casualties, bodies turning up on the streets and all we can do now is just hope that everyone that we know and love is safe because there’s nothing else to do.”
Richard Bissen Jr, the mayor of Lahaina Town, said during a news conference that the fires have killed six people and that there have also been 13 evacuations for three fires.
Fire was widespread in Lahaina Town, including on Front Street, a popular shopping and dining area, County of Maui spokesperson Mahina 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.
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