Six People Die in Hawaii After Hurricane Winds Fuel Wildfires

Six people have been confirmed dead after wildfires fueled by hurricane winds tore through parts of Maui, destroying much of the popular tourist town Lahaina.

Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen said in a press conference Wednesday that it was too early to know how many homes, businesses or other structures had been destroyed or damaged. He said “many have been burned to the ground,” particularly in the Lahaina area on Maui’s west coast.

Three wildfires caused the damage and were still burning Wednesday afternoon, Bissen said. More than 1,000 acres of the island’s Upcountry, an agricultural inland area that includes Haleakala National Park, have been charred.

Evacuations have been ordered in 13 communities and towns and many roads closed around Maui, while roughly 2,100 people have taken refuge in shelters. State and county authorities have urged tourists to stay away from the region or leave Maui if they can.

Bissen said he didn’t know how the six people killed in the fires died and whether they were local residents or tourists.

Earlier Wednesday, smoke and fire caused people to flee to the ocean, Maui County officials said. The U.S. Coast Guard transported 12 people from the waters off Lahaina to safety.

Videos posted online show flames on both sides of a single lane of fleeing vehicles. Buildings, palm trees and cars are engulfed in flames. Others show wind-whipped walls of fire and smoke spreading through Lahaina. Devastated areas include Front Street, an eclectic road popular with tourists that is lined with shops, businesses and historic architecture.

Maui County officials said early Wednesday that all roads were closed in Lahaina. “Do NOT go to Lahaina town,” the County of Maui said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke issued an emergency proclamation Wednesday encouraging the suspension of all nonessential air travel to Maui. Luke, who is serving as acting governor while Gov. Josh Green

Ed Sniffen, director of the state’s Transportation Department, said Maui airports remained open and at least 2,000 people stayed in them overnight because they couldn’t get flights out. An additional 4,000 visitors were trying to leave the island, he said.

Hawaiian Airlines issued a waiver allowing travelers to receive a refund or change their plans without penalty. The airline is operating its full flight schedule and is working with the state of Hawaii to support the transfer of first responders and supplies as needed, a spokesman said.

Three wildfires were also burning on the island of Hawaii on Wednesday, though authorities didn’t report any deaths there.

Authorities said they had prepared for the arrival of Hurricane Dora on Tuesday, but not for the wildfires that followed. “We never expected a hurricane which did not touch down on our land would cause this kind of wildfires,” Luke said.

Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara, adjutant general of Hawaii’s Department of Defense, said the wildfires were fueled by long-running dry conditions, low humidity and high winds. “That set the conditions for the wildfires,” said Hara, adding that he didn’t know how the blazes were sparked.

About 6,200 people were without power Wednesday in Maui, and cellphone service was down. At least 29 utility poles were knocked down amid the fires and sections of fiber-optic cables were also burned. Authorities said it was unclear how long power and phone lines might be down, but that the repair of fiber-optic cables could take a month or more.

Maui is the second-most visited Hawaiian island, after Oahu. In the first half of the year, there were nearly 1.5 million visitors to Maui, up 5.7% from the same period in 2022, according to the state’s department of business, economic development and tourism. Total visitor spending during that time was $3.47 billion, up about 25% from last year.

—Allison Pohle contributed to this article.

Write to Jennifer Calfas at [email protected]