Kahului. The forest fires that devastate several towns in Hawaii have left at least 36 dead, local authorities reported Thursday.
“While firefighting efforts continue, 36 people have been found dead so far due to the Lahaina Fire, which is still active,” Maui County government said in a statement. The previous balance reported six fatalities.
The fires began to burn early Tuesday, endangering homes, businesses and public services, as well as more than 35,000 people on the island of Maui, where Lahaina is located, the Maui Emergency Management Agency said in a statement. Hawaii.
The fires have burned more than 800 hectares of land, according to the state agency. Lahaina, a town of about 12,000 in northwest Maui, has been hardest hit.
Images disseminated on social networks show the embers destroying the tourist town, dense columns of smoke staining the sky black and several of the Lahaina marina boats also on fire.
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, ordered “that all available federal resources in the islands help in the response” against the fires.
Wildfires fanned by hurricane force winds have killed at least 36 people and devastated the historic town of Lahaina on the Hawaiian island of Maui. Via Graphic News.
