Community Corner

Photos Show Devastation In Maui: Thousands Flee As Fire Rages

Residents and tourists race to get off the island of Maui as a fire blazes, wrecking a historic town and killing at least 36 people.

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People watch as smoke and flames fill the air from raging wildfires on Front Street in downtown Lahaina, Maui on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023.
People watch as smoke and flames fill the air from raging wildfires on Front Street in downtown Lahaina, Maui on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. (Alan Dickar via AP)

ACROSS AMERICA — Residents and tourists have been advised to avoid traveling to the Hawaii island of Maui as a fire ravages the land. The fire has claimed many buildings in a historic town and killed at least 36 people in one of the most deadly U.S. fires in recent history.

The fire came as a surprise, leaving once busy streets covered in rubble and burned out cars. People on the island had little time to pack up their belongings to flee from danger. Firefighters are working round the clock to contain the inferno, while hundreds gather at the Kahului Airport waiting for flights off the island.

See photos below from the fire and the race to contain the blaze on the island of Maui.

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This photo provided by County of Maui shows fire and smoke filling the sky from wildfires on the intersection at Hokiokio Place and Lahaina Bypass in Maui, Hawaii on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. (Zeke Kalua/County of Maui via AP)
Flames from a wildfire burn in Kihei, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Ty O'Neil)
Flames from a wildfire burn trees. (AP Photo/Ty O'Neil)
Members of a Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources wildland firefighting crew on Maui battle the fire. (Matthew Thayer/The Maui News via AP)
A woman evacuates her horse past a Maui County crew working to clear Olinda Road of wind-blown debris in the fire-threatened area of Kula. (Matthew Thayer/The Maui News via AP)
People gather at the Kahului Airport while waiting for flights Wednesday. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
This combination of satellite images provided by Maxar Technologies shows an overview of southern Lahaina on Maui, Hawaii, on June 25, 2023, left, and an overview of the same area on Wednesday, Aug. 9, following a wildfire that tore through the heart of the Hawaiian island. (Maxar Technologies via AP)
This graphic shows the location of fires on the island of Maui, Hawaii, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023. Several thousand Hawaii residents raced to escape homes on Maui as the Lahaina fire swept across the island, killing multiple people and burning parts of a centuries-old town. (AP Photo)
The hall of historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission are engulfed in flames along Wainee Street on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Matthew Thayer/The Maui News via AP)

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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