Jan Wesner Childs and Sean Breslin
At least 80 people are dead in a horrific wildfire that swept through the town of Lahaina, Hawaii, earlier this week, Maui County officials confirmed Friday night local time.
The blaze damaged or destroyed more than 2,200 buildings. Rebuilding costs are estimated at more than $5.5 billion, according to a report released Saturday by FEMA.
Chaos And Horror As Flames Closed In
Analysis so far of what happened paints a scene of chaos and horror as the flames moved in on Lahaina’s historic Front Street early Tuesday evening local time.
A timeline created by the Associated Press shows that fires started burning earlier in the day on West Maui. Just before 5 p.m., Maui county posted this on Facebook:
“Flareup forces Lahaina Bypass road closure; shelter in place encouraged."
(MORE: How Weather Made The Maui Fires Catastrophic)
But by that point, people in Lahaina were already fleeing the flames.
Many got in their cars to try and drive out, but roadblocks funneled them onto Front Street, according to the AP report.
“Traffic was all over the place. Nobody knew where to go. They were trying to make everybody go up to the Civic Center and ... it just didn’t make sense to me,” Maui resident Nathan Baird told the CBC. “I was so confused. At first, I was like, ‘Why are all these people driving towards the fire?’”
Baird and his family drove around a barricade to escape.
After the fire, another survivor recounted seeing dead bodies among a charred line of vehicles on Front Street.
Residents Return To Scenes Of Utter Devastation
On Friday, residents began to return home to see what’s left. For many, there’s nothing.
The damage report released Saturday estimates that more than 4,500 people have nowhere to live. Recovery is expected to take years.
“It will be a tremendous effort, but we will come together as a community and begin working toward rebuilding from this tragedy,” Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said.
(MORE: Tourists Scramble To Safety In Maui Fire)
Search and rescue efforts continued Saturday, with teams including firefighters and national guard personnel sifting through the incinerated remains of homes and businesses. Sniffer dogs arrived on Maui Friday to hunt for dead bodies, as well as any unlikely survivors.
The Lahaina fire was one of at least three that burned in parts of West Maui this week, starting Tuesday. The flames were fanned by high winds and dry conditions.
"The winds were just getting out of control. Power lines were down everywhere," Maui resident and business owner J.D. Hessemer told CBS News.
Sydney Carney walks through her home, which was destroyed by a wildfire, Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii.Cause Of The Fires Remains Under Investigation
Officials were still examining clues to determine what sparked the blazes.
"We don't know what actually ignited the fires, but we were made aware in advance by the National Weather Service that we were in a red flag situation – so that's dry conditions for a long time, so the fuel, the trees and everything, was dry," Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara, commander general of the Hawaii Army National Guard, told reporters.
The Lahaina fire is the deadliest natural disaster in Hawaii state history.
For a look back at other news from the Maui fires, click here to see our updates from Friday.
MORE ON WEATHER.COM
-READ: How To Help Maui Fire Victims
-READ: How To Prepare Your Family For Wildfire
-READ: What Wildfire Smoke Does To Your Body
-WATCH: Video Shows How Winds Turned Maui Flames Into Infernos
-WATCH: As Maui Fire Approached, Local Boat Crewman Cleared Pier
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
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