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Wildfire sweeps through Lahaina, forces evacuations

Wildfires in Hawaii burned multiple structures in areas including historic Lahaina town, forcing evacuations and closing schools.

By George F. Lee, Cindy Ellen Russell, Associated Press, The Maui News. Courtesy photos from Maui County, NOAA, Alan Dickar and Dustin Johnson

Aug. 9, 2023

Hawaii PhotosMaui

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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM

Evacuees from the wildfires ravaging Maui begin to settle in the War Memorial Center gymnasium on Wednesday.
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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM

Miguel Martinez holds his one-year-old daughter Aketzali as Rich Kenny stands in the background at Maui High School, which is now serving as an evacuation center. Martinez, 27, made it out of Lahaina safely Tuesday night thanks to fellow Lahaina resident Rich Kenny, 80, who was escaping the deadly disaster when he picked up Martinez and roommate Ingrid Lynch on the side of Honoapiilani Highway. Martinez reunited with 1-year-old daughter Aketzali in Kihei.
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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM

Julius Limbaga, 38, had just awoken from a nap when he smelled smoke in his Lahaina apartment. “The fire was so fast and in just a blink of an eye it was everywhere,” said Limbaga who had no choice but to douse himself in water and make a run to the harbor with his rubber slippers melting on the way. He was rescued from the harbor by the U.S. Coast Guard and taken to the hospital with second-degree burns on his face, arm, legs and torso. Limbaga said he chose to discharge himself and to stay at the War Memorial Complex in Wailuku so that other patients with more severe burns could be treated. He is pictured having his dressings changed by registered nurse Savannah Hupe, who volunteered at the evacuation center.
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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM

Dustin Johnson weeps as he recounts his harrowing tale on the phone at Kahului Airport in Maui. Johnson was in Lahaina when the wildfire consumed the historic waterfront town and was rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard. Johnson was working on the charter yacht "Scotch Mist," which had been undergoing two weeks worth of dry dock work, when gusts fanned and jumped the flames of a wildfire that consumed Lahaina along with the boats fronting the harbor. Johnson assisted others evacuating the historic waterfront town and eventually was trapped himself until the U.S. Coast Guard rescued him. Johnson was at the airport to fly back to California with only the clothes he was wearing and his cellphone.
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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM

Lahaina resident Julian Marquez checks his phone at the War Memorial Center in Wailuku where his family evacuated after losing their home.
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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM

Alicia Martinez, center, looks upon her daughter, Sylvia Barrios, as her son Alan Barrios looks on exhausted while at Maui High School, which is serving as an evacuation center. The mother and daughter had returned from Oahu on Tuesday while Alan Barrios was caught in the firestorm in Lahaina that evening. Barrios documented the raging fires consuming his family's neighborhood with a cellphone and escaped with three of his four cats and some personal belongings.
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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM

Smoke blankets the horizon off the west coast of Maui on Wednesday where wild fires ravaged Lahaina on Tuesday.
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Maxar Technologies via AP

This combination of satellite images provided by Maxar Technologies shows an overview of Lahaina Square on June 25, left, and an overview of the same area on Wednesday following a wildfire that tore through Lahaina.
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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM

Travelers wait for their flights at Kahului Airport on Maui on Wednesday. At the center is Olga Fong with her children, Alex, 9, and Nicholas, 3. The Fongs left Lahaina just before the wildfire gutted the historic town but had to sleep overnight on the floor of the airport since their flight back to Los Angeles had been cancelled.
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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM

Evacuees from the wildfires begin to settle in at the War Memorial Center gymnasium on Wednesday.
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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM

B. Hoopai, 55, holds her 19-month-old granddaughter, Jezzie, as her husband holds his 9-month-old grandaughter, Zori, at the War Memorial Center on Wednesday. The Hoopai family evacuated from the Ka Hale A Ke Ola homeless shelter in Lahaina.
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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM

A Maui firefighter from Wailea Ladder 14 jumps off a truck entering the gates of Haleakala Ranch.
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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM

A plume of smoke from wildfires rises over the lower part of Kihei on Wednesday.
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Maxar Technologies via AP

This combination of satellite images provided by Maxar Technologies shows an overview of Banyan Court in Lahaina on June 25, top, and an overview of the same area on Wednesday following a wildfire that tore through Lahaina.
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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM

Julius Limbaga, 38, had just awoken from a nap when he smelled smoke in his Lahaina apartment. “The fire was so fast and in just a blink of an eye it was everywhere,” said Limbaga who had no choice but to douse himself in water and make a run to the harbor with his rubber slippers melting on the way. He was rescued from the harbor by the U.S. Coast Guard and taken to the hospital with second-degree burns on his face, arm, legs and torso. Limbaga said he chose to discharge himself and to stay at the War Memorial Complex in Wailuku so that other patients with more severe burns could be treated. He is pictured having his dressings changed by registered nurse Savannah Hupe, who volunteered at the evacuation center.
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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM

Julius Limbaga, 38, had just awoken from a nap when he smelled smoke in his Lahaina apartment. “The fire was so fast and in just a blink of an eye it was everywhere,” said Limbaga who had no choice but to douse himself in water and make a run to the harbor with his rubber slippers melting on the way. He was rescued from the harbor by the U.S. Coast Guard and taken to the hospital with second-degree burns on his face, arm, legs and torso. Limbaga said he chose to discharge himself and to stay at the War Memorial Complex in Wailuku so that other patients with more severe burns could be treated. He is pictured having his dressings changed by registered nurse Savannah Hupe, who volunteered at the evacuation center.
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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM

Zandra Amaral-Crouse talks to Maui firefighter Hans DuBach while wearing a mask her nephew bought her for safety.
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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM

Cars line Honoapiilani Highway near Maalaea Village in hopes of gaining access past the Maui police road closure towards Lahaina on Wednesday.
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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM

Gaku Fujita, 19, from Tokyo, evacuated from Lahaina and is staying at the Maui High School gym with his family.
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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM

Julius Limbaga, 38, had just awoken from a nap when he smelled smoke in his Lahaina apartment. “The fire was so fast and in just a blink of an eye it was everywhere,” said Limbaga who had no choice but to douse himself in water and make a run to the harbor with his rubber slippers melting on the way. He was rescued from the harbor by the U.S. Coast Guard and taken to the hospital with second-degree burns on his face, arm, legs and torso. Limbaga said he chose to discharge himself and to stay at the War Memorial Complex in Wailuku so that other patients with more severe burns could be treated. He is pictured having his dressings changed by registered nurse Savannah Hupe, who volunteered at the evacuation center.
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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM

Kim Tanaka, vice principal of Pu'u Kukui Elementary, carries a case of donated bottled water at Maui High School which is now serving as an evacuation center.
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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM

Julius Limbaga, 38, had just awoken from a nap when he smelled smoke in his Lahaina apartment. “The fire was so fast and in just a blink of an eye it was everywhere,” said Limbaga who had no choice but to douse himself in water and make a run to the harbor with his rubber slippers melting on the way. He was rescued from the harbor by the U.S. Coast Guard and taken to the hospital with second-degree burns on his face, arm, legs and torso. Limbaga said he chose to discharge himself and to stay at the War Memorial Complex in Wailuku so that other patients with more severe burns could be treated. He is pictured having his dressings changed by registered nurse Savannah Hupe, who volunteered at the evacuation center.
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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM

A plume of smoke rises from Lahaina early Wednesday morning as seen from an aircraft approaching the island of Maui.
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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM

Elian Montaya hands Maui firefighter Hans DuBach drinks to cool off.
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GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARADVERTISER.COM

Senator Brian Schatz was on hand following the media briefing by Acting Gov. Sylvia Luke in the Governors Ceremonial Room.
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GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARADVERTISER.COM

Acting Governor Sylvia Luke addressed the media, regarding the wild fires on Hawaii Island and Maui.
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GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARADVERTISER.COM

Hawaii National Guard Adj. Gen. Ken Hara addressed the media.
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GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARADVERTISER.COM

Acting Governor Sylvia Luke addressed the media, regarding the wild fires on Hawaii Island and Maui, in the Governor's Ceremonial Room.
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GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARADVERTISER.COM

Hawaii National Guard Adj. Gen. Ken Hara addressed the media, regarding the wild fires on Hawaii Island and Maui, in the Governor's Ceremonial Room on Wednesday morning, Aug. 9. Acting Gov. Sylvia Luke looked on.
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GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARADVERTISER.COM

Hawaii National Guard Adj. Gen. Ken Hara addressed the media, regarding the wild fires on Hawaii Island and Maui, in the Governor's Ceremonial Room.
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COURTESY CHRIS MILLEN / U.S. CIVIL AIR PATROL

This aerial photos shows the extensive damage caused by the Maui wildfires.
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COURTESY U.S. CIVIL AIR PATROL / COUNTY OF MAUI

Widespread damage in Lahaina was captured today by U.S. Civil Air Patrol.
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COURTESY U.S. CIVIL AIR PATROL / COUNTY OF MAUI

Widespread damage in Lahaina was captured today by U.S. Civil Air Patrol.
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ZEKE KALUA / MAUI COUNTY VIA AP

Fire and smoke fill the sky from wildfires on the intersection at Hokiokio Place and Lahaina Bypass on Maui, Hawaii Tuesday.
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ALAN DICKAR VIA AP

People watch as smoke and flames fill the air from raging wildfires on Front Street in downtown Lahaina Tuesday.
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ALAN DICKAR VIA AP

Smoke and flames fill the air from raging wildfires on Front Street in downtown Lahaina Tuesday.
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ALAN DICKAR VIA AP

People watch as smoke and flames fill the air from raging wildfires on Front Street in downtown Lahaina Tuesday.
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ALAN DICKAR VIA AP

People watch as smoke and flames fill the air from raging wildfires on Front Street in downtown Lahaina Tuesday.
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THE MAUI NEWS VIA AP

The hall of historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission are engulfed in flames along Wainee Street in Lahaina on Tuesday.
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THE MAUI NEWS VIA AP

Smoke blows across the slopes of Haleakala as a fire burns in Upcountry Maui Tuesday.
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THE MAUI NEWS VIA AP

Members of a Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources wildland firefighting crew battle a fire in Kula, Maui, on Tuesday.
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THE MAUI NEWS VIA AP

A woman evacuates her horse past a Maui County crew working to clear Olinda Road of wind-blown debris in the fire-threatened area of Kula on Tuesday.
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COURTESY DUSTIN JOHNSON

Lahaina Harbor waterfront was on fire Tuesday.
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COURTESY DUSTIN JOHNSON

Outrigger canoes were seen burnt, Tuesday, from the wildfire in Lahaina, one mile south of Lahaina Harbor.
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COURTESY DUSTIN JOHNSON

A view of Lahaina, Tuesday, from a U.S. Coast Guard vessel.
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NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION

A fire temperature satellite image from 8:40 a.m. today shows wildfires burning on Maui and Hawaii island.
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COURTESY DUSTIN JOHNSON

Aboard a U.S. Coast Guard vessel, Tuesday, off Lahaina.

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