Deadly wildfires burning across Maui prompt evacuations

Animal shelters in Maui are overflowing as many animals have been displaced during the wildfires.

The Maui Humane Society has been overwhelmed with the number of animals that have arrived at the shelter, with some cages doubled up with dogs, Paige Daniels, a resident of Makawao, told CNN.

Daniels went to the shelter to foster a dog on Wednesday afternoon and said many other residents were doing the same.

Daniels isn’t entirely sure how long they will be fostering the dog they picked up, named Kumo, as the wildfires continue to burn. Despite the sun shining in the area, the energy on the entire island is somber, Daniels explained.

The humane society is asking any residents that can help to foster animals, drop off any supplies that they can or donate if they’re able to.

Crews with Hawaiian Electric are asking people to be patient as crews work to restore power to residents affected in West Maui and Upcountry.

"We are all hands on deck in supporting and responding to Maui communities affected by the outages, active wildfires, and sustained high wind damage," spokesperson Shayna Decken said in a statement Wednesday. "Our focus right now is the safety of our communities, customers, and workforce and prioritizing power restoration to areas that our crews can safely access."

Approximately 12,400 customers remain in the dark in West Maui and crews are assessing the damage from the wildfire and working to repair multiple downed poles and power lines in various areas.  

Additional help is coming in from Oahu to assist with the “massive restoration efforts.”

At least six people have been killed by wildfires in Hawaii, according to Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen Jr.

Search and rescue efforts are still ongoing, he said, warning that the number of people killed could go up as more information becomes available.

At least six other people were injured, Bissen said. Three of those were burn-related, he said. A firefighter was also taken to the hospital and treated for smoke inhalation.

Many structures have been destroyed, several of them burnt "to the ground," Bissen said.

It is impossible to know the extent of the damage caused by wildfires in Hawaii because the flames continue to make their way across parts of the Big Island and Maui, Bissen said.

The main focus of officials and first responders is to “save lives and preserve lives,” he said. The secondary focus is to try to save property — both objectives, fire departments are working very hard to do. They are working 24-hour shifts battling the blazes, he said.

As of this morning, most of the fires on Maui are not yet contained, Bissen said.

Here are the latest developments:

President Joe Biden shared his condolences and detailed ongoing federal support efforts for Hawaiians amid raging wildfires that have killed at least six people and have prompted thousands of residents to shelter.

Biden 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.”

And as local officials are discouraging nonessential travel to Maui, Biden noted “the Department of Transportation is working with commercial airlines to evacuate tourists from Maui, and the Department of the Interior and the United States Department of Agriculture stand ready to support post fire recovery efforts.”

Biden urged residents to “follow evacuation orders, listen to the instructions of first responders and officials, and stay alert.”

The president has not yet issued a disaster declaration.

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.”

Wildfires in Maui are devastating, Hawaii Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke said.

"It's been so shocking and devastating. Not just for Maui, but the entire Hawaii community," Luke said.

She noted that so far six lives have been lost and "this is just the beginning, initial assessment."

Officials are still assessing property damage and other potential losses she said.

Luke noted that power outages, loss of cell service and overall disruptions hindered search and rescue efforts.

"The wildfires were exacerbated by the gusts of winds that reached anywhere between 70 to 80 miles per hour. So quickly, these flames reached other neighborhoods. They jumped highways and freeways and destroyed people's homes," she said

Cell services were impacted and calls to 911 were disrupted, she said.

Luke also talked about the difficulties of being an island state, which impacted response time.

"We can't just drive to the next island, next town and assist," she said. Luke added that because of the high winds, it was difficult to fly out support. "We couldn't fly them from one island to the next and that impeded and that led to even more slower response," she said.

Luke said that officials will take a closer look at that issue. "The fact that people's lives were lost. Properties were lost. I mean people's homes were damaged. You know, this is just a terrible day."

Crews are working to maintain multiple brushfires taking place in Hawaii County on the Big Island.

The Akoni Pule Highway fire is about 60% contained as of Wednesday morning local time, according to an update from the Hawai’i Fire Department. It continues to remain a threat to structures in the area.

Guests are sheltered in place at the Mauna Kea Resort, the department says, as multiple more fires burn on the Mauna Kea Beach area. Crews are on scene to assist and are working to contain the fires.

Emergency officials in California are monitoring the situation and are in contact with emergency personnel in the state as well.

Hawaii County is located on the Big Island and is separate from the fire that is burning in Maui, which is also still burning.

Mark and Michele Numbers-Stefl moved to Maui almost 24 years ago after falling in love with the island while on a vacation. 

Now they have been uprooted for the second time in five years by wildfires.

Five years ago, the couple’s home was burnt to the ground by a quick-moving fire fanned by winds associated with Hurricane Lane. This time, based on television footage they've seen, the two-story yellow house they rebuilt may be the only one standing in their neighborhood.

Stefl said they evacuated with two of their four pets to a friend’s house. They had no choice but to leave behind their other cat and dog, he said.

About a quarter of a mile from their house, a neighbor started up a generator after many residents had lost power due to strong winds fanned by Hurricane Dora. That generator caught fire, he said, and was put out by firefighters before the fire kicked back up again.

His wife was worried. He told her, “Relax, it’s gonna be OK" — but before he knew it, the fire was about 25 yards from his house.

Stefl and his wife grabbed the two animals and pulled out of their garage in a cloud of black smoke as the wind howled around them. They saw flames on both sides of the house. He said they thought they were going to die.

“I’m literally thankful just to be alive right now,” Stefl said.

The wildfires that ripped through Hawaii on Tuesday and Wednesday are “unnerving,” and comparable to the landscape-altering wildfires that are common in the West, said Erica Fleishman, director of the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute at Oregon State University. 

But Fleishman told CNN she wouldn’t be surprised “if wildfires in many parts of the world that are not accustomed to them become more common over time, or become larger or spread more rapidly.”

That’s because the human-caused climate crisis has exacerbated the hot and dry conditions that allow wildfires to ignite and grow in many parts of the planet.

Although she said it’s hard to say that the climate crisis is linked to this particular event without a thorough analysis, it is possible to break down the conditions that primed the environment for these wildfires to occur.

Temperatures are increasing worldwide, including in Hawaii, while drought is getting more intense and lasting longer. As a result, Fleishman said the availability of water has not only decreased for people, but also plants that require more water to thrive. 

And in parts of Hawaii, there have been drastic changes in plant species.

A 2018 report from the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization found that humans have introduced nonnative, fire-prone grasses and shrubs to the islands, which has allowed wildfire threat to increase exponentially. Nonnative species, which are critical fire ignitions, now cover nearly a quarter of Hawaii’s total land area.

Wind patterns are another contributing factor that may have some fingerprints of climate change, Fleishman said. High winds, such as the ones that helped fan the flames in Maui, are more likely going to dry out vegetation, air and soil, which could spark wildfires.

While it is uncommon for fires this size to ignite in places like Hawaii, Fleishman said she is hopeful that these places will have some time to prepare for a hotter and drier future that is prime for far more intense wildfires.

Read more.

The president of a Hawaiian helicopter company said several of his co-workers lost their homes and other partners lost their businesses in the wildfires moving over several parts of the islands.

"It is absolutely tragic, devastating," said Quentin Koch, the president of Blue Hawaiian Helicopters. "Tears just keep pouring and pouring from people's faces as we kind of work through the morning and all wake up and realize what we have in front of us," he added.

Blue Hawaiian Helicopters canceled its tourism operations and are now partnering with the state and are "focusing and taking care of the people that at need." Koch said helicopters have the unique ability to land in different places like golf courses or smaller airports.

Speaking of the devastation, Koch said, "Seeing it from the air and seeing the pictures just doesn't do it justice."

He noted that not being able to get a hold of some of his co-workers has been difficult, and "you can't stop thinking about it."

"We actually have a friend that's a runner, has gone through in the areas that you are able to access, gone and knock on doors and got verification that people are OK, but the fires are still going, the winds are still there," he said. Officials and other residents have said there is still no service in many places, leaving people to find things out by word of mouth.