President Joe Biden declared the fires a 'major disaster' and unblocked federal aid for relief efforts, as residents said they needed more help and feared it would take years for the town to recover.
KAHULUI, UNITED STATES - Fast-moving wildfires have claimed at least 36 lives in the US tourist paradise of Hawaii, where rescuers raced Thursday to evacuate more people from the worst-hit island of Maui.
Kirksey said helicopters dispatched to the area faced extremely low visibility due to the smoke, but that a Coast Guard vessel had been able to retrieve more than 50 people from the water. "With lives lost and properties decimated, we are grieving with each other during this inconsolable time," Mayor Richard Bissen said in a video posted to Facebook.
A first responder who was in the town after the blaze swept through described a scene of devastation. The state's tourism chief Jimmy Tokioka acknowledged the tragedy but reiterated that the "rest of Hawaii is open."Thomas Smith, a professor with the London School of Economics, said that while wildfires are not uncommon in Hawaii, the blazes this year "are burning a greater area than usual, and the fire behavior is extreme, with fast spread rates and large flames."
Some are calling on Biden to declare a national emergency related to climate change in order to access more administrative powers to tackle the crisis.
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