Hawaii is a scene of destruction and chaos today as hurricane force winds and widespread wildfires ravage communities on both Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii. The catastrophe is worst on Maui, where entire towns and resort communities have been destroyed. Due to the ongoing destruction, authorities are urging tourists to evacuate the island of Maui and have passed orders limiting non-essential travel to the area.
In Lahaina, an apocalyptic scene unfolded forcing many people to jump into the nearby harbor waters to avoid a fast-moving conflagration that whipped through town, destroying much of the historic community and its famed banyan tree, considered the oldest and largest of its kind in the world. The U.S. Coast Guard deployed the Cutter Joseph Gerczak, a MH-65 Dolphin aircrew, and a small boat crew from Station Maui to Front Street Beach and Lahaina Small Boat Harbor to recover people fleeing fires for their lives in the water. The U.S. Coast Guard reported they rescued dozens of people from the water and said the Cutter Kimball was en route to Maui to enhance efforts overnight.
For large parts of Maui, power is out as are communications systems. Maui County officials say if people need help, they should TXT and -not- call 911 for assistance. However, many cell phone towers and networks are offline.
Fires are also burning at the famous Kaanapali Beach Resort. The Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas released a statement about the status of their sprawling resort on Maui. “At this time, the resort is under a shelter in place and the management team is monitoring the weather and preparing the resort for possible mandatory evacuation. There are active evacuations in the North and South Kohala, Kula, and Lahaina areas. The resort is also without power, as is much of the Maui coast. According to the County of Maui, currently no traffic, except emergency personnel, is being allowed into West Maui. We’re advising incoming Owners and guests to evaluate flying into Maui over the next few days until more information is available as to evacuation status, power grid, infrastructure and resort access.”
Due to the ongoing wildfires on Maui caused by Hurricane Dora, Acting Governor Sylvia Luke issued an emergency proclamation to extend the state of emergency to all counties, discourage non-essential air travel to Maui, and to order all affected state agencies to assist with the evacuation.
“This is an unprecedented disaster as an indirect result of Hurricane Dora passing just south of our islands,” said Lieutenant Governor Luke. “It is truly devastating and my heart goes out to the residents of Maui and all those impacted.”
Hawaii Governor Josh Green has been away from Hawaii on personal travel but is returning to the state to deal with the crisis.
“We have suffered a terrible disaster in the form of a wildfire that has spread widely as a result of hurricane-force winds in the region and underlying drought conditions. Maui and the Big Island both experienced significant fires. Much of Lāhainā on Maui has been destroyed and hundreds of local families have been displaced,” said Governor Green.
“Heroic efforts by first responders have prevented many casualties from occurring, but some loss of life is expected. Our entire emergency response team, including the Hawai‘i National Guard has mobilized and is being supported by FEMA. We have named Adjutant General Ken Hara as our state incident commander. He was my partner in Hawai‘i’s successful COVID response.”
“The White House has been incredibly supportive and we expect to submit a request for a Presidential Disaster Declaration in the next 36 to 48 hours, once we know how vast the damage is.”
“Our state appreciates the incredible outpouring of concern and prayers from the mainland. We won’t forget the aloha you have already begun to share with us,” he said.
According to the Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT), approximately 1,800 people sheltered in place overnight at the Kahului Airport (OGG), with many west side highways closed. HDOT worked with airlines and TSA to shelter in place passengers for safety’s sake as wildfires burn in Lahaina and upcountry.
Earlier, HDOT urged all tourists to leave the island of Maui and said that Southwest Airlines had at least 1,000 seats available on flights today to get people out of harm’s way.
Hurricane Dora, a powerful hurricane that had winds over 130 mph, passed well south of Hawaii’s Big Island Monday night, but a significant pressure difference between it and a high pressure north of the islands set the stage for a severe wind and fire weather event across portions of the Aloha State. Damaging winds have knocked down trees and powerlines while those same winds are helping to fan several fires on Hawaii’s Big Island and the island of Maui.
According to the National Weather Service, “fire weather” is the use of meteorological parameters such as relative humidity, wind speed and direction, mixing heights, and soil moisture to determine whether conditions are favorable for fire growth and smoke dispersion. Based on the analysis by meteorologists at the Honolulu office of the National Weather Service, Red Flag Warnings, indicating the presence of fire weather risks, have been issued for for large parts of each island, especially the western/leeward side areas which could be influenced the most by downslope flows.
While the wind field from Dora was hundreds of miles away from Hawaii, gusts to hurricane force were observed in portions of the state.
Power lines fell in the fierce winds, igniting some of the first fires on Hawaii’s Big Island, where fires continue to burn. Guests of the Mauna Kea Beach Resort were asked to shelter-in-place as flames invaded the resort grounds Tuesday afternoon. Residents at the nearby Westin Hapuna Beach Resort spent the night in a ballroom where a makeshift shelter was set-up. Shelters are also open at Hisaoka Gym in Kapaau and the Waimea Community Center in Waimea with fires reported in Kohala Ranch and Waimea too.
While no travel ban is in place on the Big Island of Hawaii like on Maui, numerous roads are closed in the North and South Kohala region of the island as fire fighters continue to battle flames.
The National Weather Service downgraded a High Wind Warning that was in effect to a Wind Advisory earlier this morning; that will remain in effect through 6 pm today.
The National Weather Service is also maintaining a Red Flag Warning for extreme fire weather conditions through to 6 pm too.
