At least 36 people have died in wildfires still burning in West Maui, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen confirmed on Wednesday evening. Thirty people, including first responders, have also been injured, some seriously, since the fires broke on Tuesday.
An aerial survey Wednesday afternoon found at least 271 structures damaged or destroyed as high winds generated by Hurricane Dora spread fire across Kula and West Maui.
At an evening news briefing at the Hawaii Convention Center led by Lt. Sylvia Luke and including federal, state and local officials leading the emergency response, Adjutant General Ken Hara said National Guardsman providing air support to the fire suppression effort flew for 13 hours on Wednesday and conducted 58 drops involving a total of 150,000 gallons of water.
Late Wednesday night, Maui County announced that it had opened two more shelters on the island.
The additional shelters are located at King’s Cathedral Maui (77 Maui Veteran’s Highway) in Kahului and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1300 Maui Lani Parkway) in Kahului.
State transportation director Ed Sniffen said an estimated 11,000 travelers were successfully transported out of Maui on Wednesday. He praised the efforts of several airlines to assist in moving travelers safely and efficiently, including Alaska, Delta, United and American Airlines, who arranged for larger planes to transport as many departing passengers as possible. He also noted that Southwest Airlines had reduced fares and increased service.
Sniffen said getting people to Kahului Airport has been a challenge due to highway closures.
“We only had the back road of Kahekili Highway opened up,” he said. “Now we have Honoapiilani Highway and Lahaina bypass open going east to make sure everybody gets to the airport. We give Maui County a lot of credit for running nine buses to make sure we got another 450 people out to the airport this afternoon.”
The mass bus evacuation from West Maui will resume at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, Maui County announced late Wednesday. Bus boarding will be staged at Whalers Village entryway fronting Kaanapali Parkway. Visitors will be taken directly to the Kahului Airport. Three Roberts Hawaii Motor coaches, each with a capacity of 49 people, will be available. Additional buses from partner agencies will be added based on demand.
About 600 people were expected to stay at the airport overnight for flights departing early Thursday morning.
The state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism worked with the Red Cross to prepare the Hawaii Convention Center for overflow evacuees. While the center was set up to accommodate 2,000 people, far fewer actually showed up on Wednesday. DBEDT director Jimmy Tokioka said it appeared that many travelers and evacuees used online resources to make their own hotel reservations.
Tokioka encouraged visitors to consider other islands, like Kauai and Hawaii Island, which have ample hotel accommodations.
U.S. Mazie Hirono, whose own planned activities on Maui were canceled due to the fire, said she had received assurances of support from throughout the federal government.
Hirono said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas contacted her early Wednesday to provide whatever support was needed. Hirono said she also spoke with Small Business Administration administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman about federal support for Maui business owners who will need to rebuild their businesses over the coming months and years.
“I’ve been getting phone calls from supporters from both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate, including (Senate Majority Leader) Chuck Schumer, who said to our entire delegation that we stand ready,” Hirono said. “I know that the president is assessing the possibility—and I hope that it comes soon—of a declaration of a national disaster so that there can be more federal resources brought to bear.”
Federal Emergency Management Agency regional administrator Robert Fenton, who was in Hawaii when the fires broke out, said he approved Fire Management Assistant Grants in the first 24 hours of the fire response, three for Maui and two for Hawaii Island. He said the grants provide immediate assistance to fight the fires, including bringing in additional resources from contractors or other governmental agencies.
Fenton said FEMA is conducting assessments to plan for the future needs of the community once the fires have been extinguished, from rental assistance to business loans to hazard mitigation and infrastructure repair.