Hawaii’s hospitals have been overwhelmed with burn patients due to wildfires raging across Maui, Gov. Josh Green said.
The fires have destroyed countless homes, and there have been reports of people jumping into the Pacific Ocean to escape the flames and “extensive evacuations,” Hawaii News Now reported.
Green said in a statement that despite the best efforts of rescuers, some people are feared dead.
The Mayor of Maui confirmed there have been 6 deaths as of 5 p.m. CT.
“We have suffered a terrible disaster in the form of a wildfire that has spread widely as a result of hurricane-force winds in the region and underlying drought conditions. Maui and the Big Island both experienced significant fires,” said Green, who has been out of Hawaii on personal travel, according to the Honolulu Star Advertiser. “Much of Lahaina on Maui has been destroyed, and hundreds of local families have been displaced.”
Acting Gov. Sylvia Luke issued an emergency proclamation Wednesday to extend Maui’s state of emergency to all counties in the state. She discouraged non-essential air travel to Maui.
“This is an unprecedented disaster as an indirect result of Hurricane Dora passing just south of our islands,” Luke said in a statement. “It is truly devastating and my heart goes out to the residents of Maui and all those impacted.”
Multiple burn patients were flown out of Maui to Honolulu on Wednesday for care, Hawaii News Now reported. One woman in her 60s was flown there in critical condition.
Honolulu Emergency Medical Services Director Jim Ireland confirmed that patients on Maui are being airlifted to Oahu, the most populous of Hawaii’s islands.
“It’s been very heartbreaking for all of us and frustrating because if we weren’t an island we would drive over and help them from Honolulu, but being that we are separated we’re trying to support them in anyway we can,” Ireland told Hawaii News Now.
On Tuesday night, the Coast Guard deployed a helicopter and boat to Lahaina Small Boat Harbor to rescue a dozen people from the waters off Lahaina.
Videos on social media show a wall of flames descending on Front Street in Lahaina and destroying everything in its path. One video posted by fleeing residents shows flames in all directions.