The Maui, Hawaii, death toll increased to 67 on Friday as firefighters continue to battle the blaze, local officials announced.
The wildfires began on Tuesday and have destroyed at least 2,000 acres of land, including 80 percent of the Maui town Lahaina, a rich cultural area that was once the capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
The death toll hit 55 on Thursday, but an additional 12 people were confirmed dead on Friday afternoon. The Maui wildfire is the deadliest one on U.S. soil since the 2018 Camp Fire in California killed at least 85 people. Gov. Josh Green (D) on Thursday cautioned that the death toll would rise “significantly” in the coming days.
More than 11,000 Maui residents were without power as of Thursday. President Joe Biden recently declared a major disaster, opening up federal aid for the impacted areas.
As the Associated Press detailed:
Associated Press journalists witnessed the devastation, with nearly every building flattened to debris on Front Street, the heart of the Maui community and the economic hub of the island. The roosters known to roam Hawaii streets meandered through the ashes of what was left, including an eerie traffic jam of the charred remains of dozens of cars that didn’t make it out of the inferno.
Incinerated cars crushed by downed telephone poles. Charred elevator shafts standing as testaments to the burned-down apartment buildings they once served. Pools filled with charcoal-colored water. Trampolines and children’s scooters mangled by the extreme heat.
Gov. Green said Lahaina looks like “a bomb and fire went off” due to the wildfire’s destruction.
Burned cars and destroyed buildings are pictured in the aftermath of a wildfire in Lahaina, western Maui, Hawaii on August 11, 2023. (Photo by PAULA RAMON/AFP via Getty Images)
“When you see the full extent of the destruction in Lahaina, it will shock you. It does appear like a bomb and fire went off, if I may. And all of the buildings virtually are gonna have to be rebuilt. It will be a new Lahaina that Maui builds in its own image, with its own values,” Green said.
Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter.
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