8/10/23 - More than 30 Lives Lost To Fires On Maui

Wind-driven wildfires on the island of Maui have left many homes and businesses damaged and forces evacuations.

MAUI - As of Thursday morning, at least 36 lives have been lost due to wildfires on the island of Maui.  The historic town of Lahaina, which dates back to the 1700s, is almost totally burnt to the ground, with the blaze leaving behind smoking piles of rubble.

There are three major areas where the fires are burning.

Over 200 homes and businesses have been damaged and burned.

Thousands of people have been evacuated and many moved into shelters. The hospital has also been overburdened with burn patients.

There are power outages, roads that are closed and many were without cell phone service.

There were reports of up to 80 mph winds from Hurricane Dora that passed nearby earlier this week. 

Some people were forced to jump into the Pacific Ocean to escape the smoke and fire conditions and then were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Conditions have been favorable for wildfires due to drought conditions and low humidity.