Hawaii Wildfires Death toll Reaches 53

One of the deadliest calamities to strike the islands since they became a US state, a horrific wildfire that destroyed a historic Hawaiian village on Thursday claimed 53 lives.

Tuesday, brushfires on the west coast of the Hawaiian island of Maui quickly consumed the resort community of Lahaina due to strong winds from a neighboring storm.

Many people were caught off surprise, stuck in the streets, or forced to plunge into the water in an attempt to escape the flames' rapid movement.

Governor Josh Green spoke to a catastrophe that occurred a year after Hawaii became the 50th US state, noting that "in 1960 we had 61 fatalities when a large wave came through Big Island."

This time, it's quite likely that we'll have a large increase in the number of fatalities.

Authorities in Maui County said on Thursday that 53 deaths had been officially verified, and that firefighters were still battling the wildfire.

On Thursday, Lahaina was reduced to smoldering, charred rubble; according to Green, 80 percent of the town had vanished.

Everyone would undoubtedly characterize this as if a bomb had hit Lahaina, he said. "It appears to be complete destruction; structures that we have all shared and celebrated for decades, for generations, are totally destroyed."

The fires were deemed a "major disaster" on Thursday by President Joe Biden, who also released government funding for relief work after people claimed they needed additional assistance for a recovery that would take years.

Thousands of people have already been evacuated from Maui, and 1,400 people spent the night waiting to leave at the major airport in Kahului.

Visitors are urged to evacuate "as soon as possible," and Maui County has set up buses to transport evacuees from shelters to the airport.

A third of all tourists that come to the state for vacation stay on the island, and their spending power is crucial for the community's economy.

On Hawaii's Big Island, fires have also started, although authorities declared them to be under control on Thursday.

Jimmy Tokioka, director of tourism for the state, lamented the tragedy but emphasized that "the rest of Hawaii is open."

High winds fanned fires that ate through parched foliage as a storm passed to Hawaii's south.