Tel-Chai Nation

A terrible forest fire disaster resulted in much of the township of Lahaina on the Hawaiian island of Maui being destroyed:

The wildfires in Maui have caused an unprecedented amount of damage to the tropical island, destroying roughly 80 percent of the historic town of Lahaina.

While Maui officials on Thursday morning said most of the fire was contained, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green (D) flatly told CNN the town itself was “gone.”

“There is no doubt everyone would describe this as though a bomb hit Lahaina,” he said. “It looks like total devastation. Buildings that we’ve all enjoyed and celebrated together for decades, for generations, are completely destroyed. I mean smoldering still. Only a few stone buildings are still partially up. Looks to me that about 80 percent of Lahaina is gone.”

But the worst thing about this awful incident is how many lives were lost:

The death toll from the wildfires that have ravaged vast parts of the west coast of Hawaii’s Maui island over the past 48-hours stood at 53 late Thursday night. Authorities have warned the count is expected to rise.

“In 1960 we had 61 fatalities when a large wave came through Big Island,” Governor Josh Green said, referring to a tragedy that struck a year after Hawaii became the 50th U.S. state.

“This time, it’s very likely that our death totals will significantly exceed that.”

It's absolutely awful. This could take ages to repair, if at all, but it's the lives lost that's the worst part of the tragedy. My condolences to all victims.

Labels: United States