Death toll climbs to 55 in Maui fires as focus shifts to search and rescue

Almost 15,000 visitors left Maui on Thursday

On Thursday, 14,900 visitors left Maui on flights, the county said in an update early Friday. 

American Airlines and United Airlines had flown empty planes to the island Thursday to aid in evacuating travelers whose plans were upended by the wildfires.

Earlier Thursday, tourism officials reported that more than 11,000 people had been evacuated. 

Survivors recount unbearable heat, jumping into ocean to escape flames

Mike Cicchino and his wife, Andreza, dove into the ocean to escape getting burned when flames engulfed their neighborhood this week.

“The current was pulling us out. You can’t see anything. At one point, we have fire on us and we don’t know where land is,” he said in an interview that aired Friday on NBC’s “TODAY” show. 

When they made it back to shore and looked for their dogs, they were met by the desperate cries of their neighbors. 

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“It was like every 10 feet was ‘Help! Help!’ And I helped as many people as I possibly could but I couldn’t go any further, because there was just too much heat,” Cicchino said. 

Another couple, Sam and Josie Younger, said they escaped their beachfront home with seconds to spare when a blaze broke out.  

“It was unspeakable, unthinkable really, just seeing what was going on, all the destruction, all the people,” Younger told NBC News’ Dana Griffin, who is on the ground in Hawaii.

Despite the devastation on the island, Younger said, he’s remains hopeful Maui will bounce back.

“It’s gonna take a lot of work and a lot of years and a lot of manpower but I have no doubt that it will bounce back.”

When asked about siren system issues, Maui County mayor says fires posed ‘impossible situation’

Questions have swirled on whether the siren system in Maui failed to properly warn residents to evacuate as wildfires rapidly spread in the island’s west side.

Bissen said on NBC’s “TODAY” show Friday: “I think this was an impossible situation.”

“The winds that hit us in on that side of the island … in some areas, gusts were up to 80 mph, some sustained between 45 and 60-65 mph. So, everything happened so quickly,” he explained. “I can’t comment on whether or not the sirens sounded or not, but I know the fires came up so quickly and they spread so fast. There were some initially, when there was a smaller fire, homes were evacuated.”

He noted that “many, many” people evacuated from their homes as 2,100 people were in shelters Tuesday night, not including many visitors in Kaanapali who sheltered in place in their hotels.

“Again, there was no power, there was no water. So that’s what we were dealing with,” he added.

Hawaii Emergency Management records showed no indication that warning sirens were triggered before the fires erupted, officials said, and some Lahaina survivors said they didn’t hear any sirens, but fled when they saw flames or heard explosions, The Associated Press reported.  

‘Our focus is on finding missing persons’: Maui County mayor says

Bissen said the focus in Maui is finding missing people and reuniting families as the death toll mounted to 55. 

“I think that number could go up,” he said on NBC’s “TODAY” show Friday, noting so far the victims found were outside buildings. 

“So we have not yet searched in the interior of the buildings. We’re waiting for FEMA to help with that search as they are equipped to handle the hazmat conditions of the building.”

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“Right now, our focus is on finding any missing persons, we want to reunite families, we want to give people information whether their family members at one of our shelters or whether they are among those who have perished, we need to get that information to our citizens,” he said.

The west side of the island in Lahaina is still in crisis: no power, no water, no communication ability, no internet or phone service, the mayor said. Crews have been going to the impacted areas with supplies and water, he added.

Lahaina man describes seeing bodies in the sea

A man who stayed behind in the devastated town of Lahaina has described the horror of seeing bodies in the sea and in the streets.

Commercial fisherman Bryan Sizemore, 48, said by phone early Thursday that he saw “at least a dozen corpses” when he went into the town Wednesday. He flagged police officers to the location of one body and later saw it being recovered from the street.

“The town is completely gone,” he said. “Power lines are down. You’ll see whole neighborhood burned out, but then there’ll be one or two houses still standing, barely dirty,” he said. 

Sizemore has stayed in Lahaina to protect his store from looters, but there’s no running water or electricity and food is scarce, he said. He’s surviving on snack bars and a case of bottled water given by friends.

“I never thought I’d see nothing like this. You know when you watch movies, it’s a possibility, but not in real life,” he said.

Hawaii state health authority to offer mental health services to survivors

Survivors of the fires that have devastated Maui will be offered mental health services, including counseling, Green’s office said late Thursday.

The Maui Community Mental Health Center will provide “crisis mental health services and expanding hours to those experiencing emotional or psychological distress as a result of the Maui wildfires,” the statement said.

The services include mental health counseling, trauma processing, psychiatric services and resource guidance.

Anyone seeking these services should contact Maui CMHC at (808) 984-2150 or via email at [email protected], or in person at 121 Mahalani Street in Wailuku.

Rock legend and Maui resident Mick Fleetwood’s Lahaina restaurant destroyed

A restaurant on the Lahaina seafront belonging to Fleetwood Mac drummer and founding member Mick Fleetwood was completely destroyed by wildfire, he said Thursday.

“MAUI and The Lahaina community have been my home for several decades. This is a devastating moment for MAUl and many are suffering unimaginable loss,” Fleetwood wrote on Instagram.

“On behalf of myself and my family I share my heartfelt thoughts and prayers for the people of MAUI. We are committed to supporting the community and those affected by this disaster in the days month and years to come.”

‘It was like a war zone’: Storekeeper surveys Maui wildfire devastation

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Green: Maui fires are likely the worst natural disaster ever in Hawaii

“What we saw today was likely the largest natural disaster in Hawaii state history,” Green said in a statement late Thursday.

“It’s going to take a great deal of time to recover from this, but we have the support from every level of government all the way up to the federal level, especially given President Biden’s approval of my disaster declaration request today. It will be a tremendous effort, but we will come together as a community and begin working toward rebuilding from this tragedy.”

Almost 11,000 customers without power in West Maui

Nearly 11,000 customers in the worst-affected western Maui remain without power, a live map of outages by electricity provider Hawaiian Electric shows.

Earlier Thursday, the company said access continues to be limited to many impacted areas because of safety and emergency response concerns, and power restoration will be prioritized to areas that the crews can safely access.

The company also said that it’s asking customers in the area to prepare for extended outages that could last several weeks.

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke calls for donations for survivors

The thousands of survivors displaced by the Maui wildfires need support and donations, Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke said late Thursday. She posted links to the local branch of the Red Cross, as well as other local charities and a food bank on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.

Emergency loan program announced for Maui, Hawaii Island farmers

Maui and Hawaii Island farmers who suffered damage in the wildfires this week will be able to use an emergency agricultural loan program announced by the state Agriculture Department on Thursday.

The farmers and ranchers are encouraged to apply now if they believe they will need financial assistance, the Hawaii Board of Agriculture said, as damage estimates may take some time to fully assess.

Drone captures devastation in Lahaina after wildfires

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Oprah Winfrey visits evacuees in Maui

Talk show host and media mogul Oprah Winfrey visited wildfire evacuees in Maui on Thursday. Winfrey is a high-profile part-time resident and landowner on the island.

The celebrity’s spokesperson confirmed that she went to a local shelter to ask what was most needed. She then went to Walmart and Costco to shop for the items and brought them back, the spokesperson said.

Winfrey plans to do more for the devastated island, as it becomes clear what funds can be the most helpful for the short-term and long-term rebuilding, the spokesperson added, calling the wildfires “heart-breaking devastation.”

Death toll rises to at least 55

Max Burman

The number of people confirmed to have died in the devastating Maui fire is now 55, local officials said early Friday.

“As firefighting efforts continue, 2 additional fatalities have been confirmed today amid the active Lahaina fire,” Maui county said in a news release.