The devastated landscape of Lahaina looks more like a war zone than the popular Pacific beauty spot that welcomes more than two million tourists each year.
The smell of smoke hangs in the air as historic buildings still smolder from the wildfires that began ravaging the Hawaiian beach town on the island of Maui late Tuesday.
The death toll is now at 80 – and that number is expected to rise further as thousands of people are still missing and rescuers have yet to search the many leveled properties.
managed to enter the exclusion zone established by Maui authorities early Friday afternoon with a small group of residents who came to assess the damage to their homes and search the rubble to recover precious memories .
More than 2,200 buildings were reduced to rubble here, displacing at least 1,400 residents who fled to shelters scattered around the island. The Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) and FEMA have estimated the cost of reconstruction at $5.52 billion.
Scattered on the now-deserted streets of Lahaina were charred and bent metal frames from cars, some likely belonging to those who didn’t make it out alive.
The devastated landscape of Lahaina looks more like a war zone than the popular Pacific beauty spot that welcomes more than two million tourists each year
Residents returned to the coastal city on Friday to survey the damage to their homes and try to restore precious memories that have been reduced to ashes
Many mourned while others spent sleepless nights wondering when the thousands missing will be found
Cars snaked bumper-to-bumper back down the Honoapiilani Highway while locals queued for hours before officials allowed entry to those with proof of residence.
Tiffany Teruya had returned to see what was left of the apartment block she moved into just last October.
The 37-year-old waitress ran for her life as the fire drew closer to the home she shared with her 13-year-old son.
‘It’s gone. We lost everything. “A lot of us have done that,” she says, glancing back at where her house once stood on Kupuohi Street in the historic city, and seeming to point a finger at the local authorities for failing to warn local residents of the impending danger in good time.
Strong winds, in part from Hurricane Dora about 800 miles away, fueled the blazes and caused the fire to quickly spread across the western portion of the island.
“There was no urgency from senior officials to tell us that a major emergency was coming,” she tells us.
“Social media said the fires had been contained.”
Just hours after our conversation, Hawaii’s Attorney General Anne Lopez announced that she would be investigating critical decisions before, during and after the wildfires.
Hawaii Rep. Jill Tokuda admitted Saturday morning that the state “underestimated the lethality and speed of the fire.” Now photos of the devastating fires have surfaced
Today, 2,207 buildings are reduced to rubble or ash, including the one in Lahaina where a man walks through the ruins of his home
managed to break into the exclusion zone established by Maui authorities early Friday afternoon with a small group of residents who came to assess the damage to their homes
Hawaii Rep. Jill Tokuda also admitted in an interview with CNN on Saturday morning that the state “underestimated the lethality and speed of the fire.”
She said no plan had been made for possible outages in the emergency alert system, which is normally received over cellphones. At the time, there was no cell phone coverage in the area.
“It’s not like hurricane-force winds are unheard of in Hawaii, dry scrub or red-flag conditions,” she said.
“We’ve seen this before [Hurricane] Roadway. We didn’t learn our lesson from Lane [in 2018] – That bushfires could erupt below us in the south as a result of the churning hurricane winds,” Tokuda said. “We have to make sure we do better.”
In 2018, as Hurricane Lane approached Hawaii, 2,330 hectares of bushfires raged on Maui. A year later, 25,000 hectares of land burned – but the Hawaiian disaster control agency described the risk of forest fires to human life as “low”.
Previously, Hawaii’s deadliest natural disaster was a 1960 tsunami that killed 61 people, injured nearly 300 and caused an estimated $75 million in damage.
Teruya says she fled when black smoke rose over her neighborhood and curled around surrounding homes and businesses.
“My son packed what he could, I grabbed my mother’s ashes and we left.”
Just under a mile north, 19-year-old Hector Cardenas is desperate to figure out what to salvage from his own home where he lived with his mother.
“These are my dumbbells that I worked out with in my room.” “That’s so crazy,” he says, pointing to what’s left of his bedroom.
The Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) and FEMA have estimated the cost of rebuilding the Lahaina fire at $5.52 billion
The blackened and twisted metal frames of cars littered the now-deserted streets of Lahaina, some likely belonging to those who hadn’t made it out alive
Aerial view of vehicles destroyed by Lahaina wildfires sparked by a dry summer and high winds from a passing hurricane
“I lost my car, I lost everything.” I only managed to pack two shirts and a pair of shorts. Otherwise I have nothing else.’
Just eight hours after Lahaina residents regained entry, authorities suddenly closed the only road into the disaster area amid reports of clashes between residents and police.
Angry scenes erupted on the road to Lahaina on Friday as police reopened the artery for the first time since the devastating wildfires — and 100 people opposed officers trying to control access.
Footage shared on social media showed a long line of cars entering the fire-ravaged city after the road opened at midday.
People had to show either proof of residency in the West Maui area or proof that they were staying at a hotel in the zone.
But by 5pm the road was closed in both directions and police said distraught and angry local residents had caused chaos, with one officer saying riots were inevitable.
One officer told the Honolulu Star Advertiser that people were parking along the freeway and moving into areas not yet considered safe, and reacted “emotionally” when police asked him to leave the area.
Cars were allowed to leave at 6 p.m., but the road to Lahaina remained closed.
Maui County officials confirmed unrest had broken out and urged people to respect orders to avoid certain areas.
On Friday, people could be seen on the beach in Honokowai, Maui, trying to find phone service
Also in Honokowai, Maui, clothing donations began Friday as thousands continue to be displaced
In Honokowai, Maui, residents queue to get gas. Officials said: ‘No fuel will be distributed on Saturday’
Authorities have urged residents to text rather than call as cell service resumes in affected areas to ensure limited resources are shared
They said anyone found in a closed part of the city could face arrest.
“The road to Lahaina has been opened to residents to provide medicine and supplies to their families who live in homes on the west side and need such assistance outside of the fire/biohazard zone,” the local authority said in a statement.
“Many people are parking on the Lahaina bypass and walking into the Makai areas of the bypass, which is closed due to hazardous conditions and biohazards.”
“This zone has been designated as an authorized personnel area only by Mayor Bissen, and those caught in this zone will be taken out and are subject to arrest.”
“This area is an active police scene and we must uphold the dignity of the lives lost and respect their surviving families.”
Local officials asked people to understand that police and other search and rescue teams needed time and space to do their jobs.
“Unauthorized entry into these areas increases their danger to themselves and delays our operations as MPD and National Guard personnel have to halt their search efforts and escort individuals out,” they said.
“If people continue to disobey orders, access to Lahaina will be closed again and only open to emergency personnel.”
Hundreds of people slept in their cars and waited in a line of vehicles about a mile long for the freeway to reopen.