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Maui Mayor Richard Bissen’s office said tonight that the confirmed death toll from the windswept wildfires that devastated Lahaina and other Valley Isle communities Tuesday has risen to 36.
Earlier today, they said six deaths had been confirmed.
Officials fear the death toll and injuries will rise. In addition to the 36 confirmed deaths, officials say at least 30 were wounded by the fires which forced some residents to jump into Lahaina Harbor to escape flames.
The firestorm is also estimated to have destroyed or damaged at least 271 structures on the Valley Isle.
Maui County officials provided no additional information on the deaths.
Also tonight, the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved the state’s request for a disaster declaration to provide assistance with the wind-whipped wildfires burning in Kula, Kihei and LahainaThe decision under the Fire Management Assistance Grant program opens the door to allow for federal reimbursement of up to 75% of the eligible firefighting costs, state officials said.
Meanwhile, about 11,000 Hawaii visitors have been flown from Maui as local leaders try to focus efforts on assisting Maui residents.
That was one of the updates at a news conference at the Hawaii Convention Center this evening held by Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono and other local leaders involved in the response to the Maui and Hawaii island fires.
State Department of Transportation Director Ed Sniffen said that airlines have helped accommodate Maui travelers to get them off the island.
Another 600 people are expected to spend tonight at the Kahului airport, he said.
While the convention center has been set up to accommodate visitors who need help figuring out where to stay or how to get home, it’s been mostly empty as visitors have been able to find a place to stay on their own.
“The hotels that had occupancy this morning, most of them don’t have that occupancy. That tells us that people are going straight from the airport and finding their accommodations and transportation,” James Tokioka, director of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, said at the news conference.
Sniffen noted that Hawaiian Airlines is operating until 2 a.m. Thursday and Southwest Airlines has dropped its fares to help in the effort.
In the meantime, Luke said the state is still in the “assessment stage,” so the extent of the damage is still not clear, but she said that recovery will take a long time.
Luke said that the state is applying for several types of federal aid to support affected residents and businesses as well as for rebuilding destroyed infrastructure.
Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency didn’t have an updated figure for the number of fatalities from the fires, deferring to the counties to provide those and similar numbers, but said Mayor Bissen plans on updating figures Thursday morning.
Regarding the cause of the fire, he mentioned that the high winds across the state, in part caused by Hurricane Dora passing to the south, took him by surprise.
“That wind speed, how rapidly that fire moved, that was not anticipated,” he said.
Read more at https://www.staradvertiser.com/2023...vastate-lahaina-wreak-havoc-across-2-islands/
Earlier today, they said six deaths had been confirmed.
Officials fear the death toll and injuries will rise. In addition to the 36 confirmed deaths, officials say at least 30 were wounded by the fires which forced some residents to jump into Lahaina Harbor to escape flames.
The firestorm is also estimated to have destroyed or damaged at least 271 structures on the Valley Isle.
Maui County officials provided no additional information on the deaths.
Also tonight, the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved the state’s request for a disaster declaration to provide assistance with the wind-whipped wildfires burning in Kula, Kihei and LahainaThe decision under the Fire Management Assistance Grant program opens the door to allow for federal reimbursement of up to 75% of the eligible firefighting costs, state officials said.
Meanwhile, about 11,000 Hawaii visitors have been flown from Maui as local leaders try to focus efforts on assisting Maui residents.
That was one of the updates at a news conference at the Hawaii Convention Center this evening held by Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono and other local leaders involved in the response to the Maui and Hawaii island fires.
State Department of Transportation Director Ed Sniffen said that airlines have helped accommodate Maui travelers to get them off the island.
Another 600 people are expected to spend tonight at the Kahului airport, he said.
While the convention center has been set up to accommodate visitors who need help figuring out where to stay or how to get home, it’s been mostly empty as visitors have been able to find a place to stay on their own.
“The hotels that had occupancy this morning, most of them don’t have that occupancy. That tells us that people are going straight from the airport and finding their accommodations and transportation,” James Tokioka, director of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, said at the news conference.
Sniffen noted that Hawaiian Airlines is operating until 2 a.m. Thursday and Southwest Airlines has dropped its fares to help in the effort.
In the meantime, Luke said the state is still in the “assessment stage,” so the extent of the damage is still not clear, but she said that recovery will take a long time.
Luke said that the state is applying for several types of federal aid to support affected residents and businesses as well as for rebuilding destroyed infrastructure.
Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency didn’t have an updated figure for the number of fatalities from the fires, deferring to the counties to provide those and similar numbers, but said Mayor Bissen plans on updating figures Thursday morning.
Regarding the cause of the fire, he mentioned that the high winds across the state, in part caused by Hurricane Dora passing to the south, took him by surprise.
“That wind speed, how rapidly that fire moved, that was not anticipated,” he said.
Read more at https://www.staradvertiser.com/2023...vastate-lahaina-wreak-havoc-across-2-islands/
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