How wildfires took hold of Hawaii

so grateful to be alive so I can continue to help people oh my gosh look at the harbor this was a home all the cars with full gas tanks that reached the fire there exploded [Music] [Applause] Lahaina on the island of Maui an area of natural beauty million dollar mansions designer shops and some of Hawaii's most luxurious Harborside restaurants and hotels oh my goodness look all these houses lahainer in the local dialect translates as cruel sun today they are cursing the cruel flames our correspondent saw for herself the horrors the wildfires inflicted here in just a matter of hours [Music] restaurants businesses and this is where many people came to try and Escape the Flames arrived with terrifying speed this area was packed with tourists and diners the Flames now devour their pick of the best shops and restaurants the wildfires have been fanned by a recent hurricane making them even more ferocious oh dozens are dead and residents are warned to expect more bodies to be found the stories of those who survived are simply remarkable Idris and Damon jumped into the ocean and clung to a jetty for hours to stay alive we keep hearing explosions we we're bringing screams out of a horror movie you know I call the cops again they couldn't come the third time I called them they said you have to go in the water and I said you want us to jump in the hurricane it's black you know the ocean was pulling us at the same time we were trying to had debris falling on us we're trying to get wet and not burn I didn't think I just prayed and I said God please not today I I didn't know what to say I was this is it most of this town has been destroyed wisps of smoke and Ash pretty much all that's left of homes and businesses and I couldn't tell where I was sometimes sometimes I could you know it's a short road Front Street if you guys walk down the street you see it's completely burnt and I feel like we're not getting the help we need you know oh my God looking up the hillside all the homes are gone all the buildings are gutted uh it looks like like a war zone like from just total Destruction the final curtain coming down on historic buildings like the communities Pioneer theater and in dating back to 1901. it was devastating it felt like a war zone and it was still fresh I could see trees burning I could feel the smoke I could feel the heat and it was basically like like another pandemic to explain it it was a ghost town very apocalyptic and as our mobile unit was driving through we started seeing some people come out of the Woodworks like survivors only a few days ago this Harbor was buzzing with fishing trips sightseeing tours and party boats [Music] tourists and holiday makers are evacuating Hawaii incredulous at what has happened in such a short space of time we had just driven through two days earlier and it was beautiful and bustling and then coming back on the way back and seeing um just absolute devastation it was really heartbreaking when we came on the charter bus to come here they took us right through behind us and we were able to see up close and firsthand the devastation and how everything we saw the day before was so Lush and beautiful is just completely gone now at the airports holiday makers still in shock wait for their chance to fly home we're pretty isolated kind of had no idea what's going on because we had you know no cell service no TV no internet all we could see was sort of a smoke in the in their Horizon um and I kind of burned uh all night until yesterday morning and then yesterday you know the alarms kind of weird at the hotel uh you know telling us to evacuate I was scary seeing uh driving through you couldn't see any structures of the buildings would God looked like a bomb went off all the the cars with full gas tanks that reached the fire they were exploded for those who had no choice but to stay the reality of what has gone on here is impossible to comprehend the community has set up places to help those who've lost everything this high school has become a relief center for those now homeless candy escaped on her moped grieving for those who couldn't get away hurdle holding each other because the fire surrounded our homes before they could even get out there was nowhere to go and these are beautiful homes that are very old intermeda Floyd I just went up like a Matchstick nobody had morning Christina was on holiday her hotel was evacuated and she has spent two nights at the shelter the red classes here the people are so kind you know we have food we have water and a place to shower and people who love us we must feel lucky we feel very lucky very blessed some Essentials may be in short supply but there's an excess of volunteers willing to help where they can still I don't know how you guys supposed to feel I'm a little worried because I have oh four months old and a two-year-old um I have dogs the wildfires don't pause after dark and neither do the fire Crews more than a dozen have lost their own homes in This Disaster this was a home here's their car [Applause] once daylight comes the helicopter Crews can get back to work eyeing up the enemy below fighting a battle on the ground from the air Hawaii is no stranger to wildfires but never on this scale the president has heard the pleas for help we have just approved a major disaster declaration for Hawaii which will get Aid in the hands of the people desperate and desperately needing help now they've lost anyone who's lost a loved one whose home has been damaged or destroyed is going to get help immediately all the bodies recovered so far were found outside but the Flames crept up so many driveways reaching so many front doors the miserable truth is more remains will be recovered as rescue teams search inside homes and vehicles people trapped unable to outrun the fire right now our focus is on finding uh any uh 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 that have perished we need to get that information to our to our citizens a devastating Collision of factors is being blamed even just the materials that all of these places are built with they're all um at high risk of wildfire and then they're surrounded by Lands that have gone out of Agriculture and are now just standing fallow and unmanaged and so um when you add in you you know hurricane force winds or or any extra little variable to make it even more severe we we were all kind of waiting for the day that something like this would happen the majority of wildfires are now contained but the horror of what happened here will last for years The Inferno chased people into the ocean terrified drivers trying to flee stole power and means of communication Hawaii a place of smiles and sunshine now terribly scarred

Channel: Sky News

Views: 984,776

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Id: 73jqgKS0WkE

Length: 10min 22sec (622 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 11 2023