Wildfires in Hawaii fanned by strong winds burned multiple structures, forcing evacuations and closing schools in several communities.
Wildfires in Hawaii fanned by strong winds burned multiple structures in areas including historic Lahaina town, forcing evacuations and closing schools in several communities Wednesday, and rescuers pulled a dozen people escaping smoke and flames from the ocean.
Fire was widespread in Lahaina, including Front Street, an area of the town popular with tourists, County of Maui spokesperson Mahina Martin said in a phone interview early Wednesday. Traffic has been very heavy as people try to evacuate and officials asked people who weren't in an evacuation area to shelter in place to avoid adding to the traffic, she said.
Officials were not aware of any deaths and knew of only one injury, a firefighter who was in stable condition at a hospital after experiencing smoke inhalation, Martin said There's no count available for the number of structures affected by the fires or the number of people affected by evacuations, but Martin said there are four shelters open, with more than 1,000 people at the largest.
Because of the wind gusts, helicopters weren't able to dump water on the fires from the sky -- or gauge more precise fire sizes -- and firefighters were encountering roads blocked by downed trees and power lines as they worked the inland fires, Martin said."It's definitely one of the more challenging days for our island given that it's multiple fires, multiple evacuations in the different district areas," Martin said.
In the Kula area of Maui, at least two homes were destroyed in a fire that engulfed about 1.7 square miles , Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said. About 80 people were evacuated from 40 homes, he said.
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