- The fire on Tuesday spreads through Lahaina ferociously, torching almost every building in its path
- The death toll is currently 55 but 1,000 remain missing and dozens of buildings yet to be searched
- Harris said today she and the President don’t want to ‘distract’ from the ongoing search and rescue mission
By JEN SMITH, CHIEF REPORTER and HARRIET ALEXANDER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
UPDATED: 06:21 AEST, 12 August 2023
The victims and survivors of Maui’s wildfires have been left with ‘napalm-like’ injuries, the likes of which haven’t been seen since the Vietnam war, according to rescue teams now tasked with combing through the incinerated rubble of Lahaina.
The fire in Maui is the worst natural disaster to have hit Hawaii since a tsunami killed 61 people in 1960. If the death toll continues to rise, as it is expected, it will surpass that grim record to become the deadliest.
It is also on pace to become the deadliest wildfire in recent US history. Over the last 100 years, only the Camp fire in California claimed more lives than have been counted so far, with 68 victims in total.
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One thousand people remain unaccounted for in Maui after Tuesday’s catastrophic fire that has so far claimed 55. The death toll is expected to rise as search teams go through homes, or what is left of them, looking for victims.
Michael Havoc Thomas, a military veteran who owns and operates HAVOC, a private rescue and training company in Hawaii, gave a harrowing description of the reality of the devastation.
‘The news will not be able to show you the real survivors or the real victims. It’s very WW2 flamethrowers and Vietnam napalm like. That is not an exaggeration.’
Search and Rescue Soldiers and Airmen attached to Hawaii National Guards CERF-P unit assisted Maui County and State officials in the search and recovery efforts of Lahaina, August 10, 2023
A young man walks through the rubble of Lahaina on August 10. Search and rescue teams say it is like ‘WW2’ or as if residents have been exposed to napalm
Wildfire wreckage is shown Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens sounded before people ran for their lives from wildfires on Maui that wiped out a historic town
Human remains detection dog Cory is in Maui with handler Su to help teams look for the victims
He said he had debriefed with a team leader whose tactical gear smelled like ‘burning flesh’.
‘When I hugged him I smelled him. Honestly, I can only compare it to experiences from the military, never had to fight a fire before so I can only tell you it’s like doing a BDA after spooky levels an objective.
‘The smells of burning metal and flesh on the gear he was carrying from dragging people out of some of the rubble.
‘Majority is too hot to touch. His boots and other rubber equipment were melted and unserviceable,’ he said.
‘The tears and smeared residue of dirt on his face tell a story he hasn’t been able to comprehend yet.’
Wildfire wreckage is shown Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens sounded before people ran for their lives from deadly wildfires that wiped out a historic town
In this image obtained from the US Department of Defense, Honolulu Fire Department vehicles and personnel are secured onto a C-17 Globemaster III on August 10, 2023, at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu, Hawaii. A team comprised of firefighters, rescue specialists and incident management personnel, and disaster-relief cargo deployed to aid communities impacted by several wildfires
In this image obtained from the US Department of Defense, Staff Sgt. Trevor Connors loads supplies onto a C-17 Globemaster III on August 10, 2023, at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu, Hawaii
A view of the charred remains after wildfires engulfed the historic town of Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, U.S. August 9, 2023
President Biden and Kamala Harris will not travel immediately to Maui because they do not want to distract from the ongoing rescue effort, Vice President Harris said today.
The fire began on Tuesday, spreading quickly and ferociously. While the exact cause of it remains unclear, high winds, dry conditions and low humidity exacerbated the flames fatally.
Fifty-five people have been confirmed dead already and 1,000 remain missing three days on from the blaze, which incinerated the entire town of Lahaina.
The governor of Hawaii and mayor of Maui County say they have received generous help from Biden so far – but that they are still waiting for FEMA to arrive with hazmat crews who can begin searching buildings for bodies.
As she left Washington DC today, Vice President Harris told reporters that she and Biden do not want to hinder that effort.
As she left Washington DC today, Vice President Harris told reporters that she and Biden do not want to hinder that effort or be a ‘distraction’ in Hawaii
real survivors or the real victims. It’s very WW2 flamethrowers and Vietnam napalm like. That is not an exaggeration.’
Search and Rescue Soldiers and Airmen attached to Hawaii National Guards CERF-P unit assisted Maui County and State officials in the search and recovery efforts of Lahaina, August 10, 2023
A young man walks through the rubble of Lahaina on August 10. Search and rescue teams say it is like ‘WW2’ or as if residents have been exposed to napalm
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Wildfire wreckage is shown Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens sounded before people ran for their lives from wildfires on Maui that wiped out a historic town
He said he had debriefed with a team leader whose tactical gear smelled like ‘burning flesh’.
‘When I hugged him I smelled him. Honestly, I can only compare it to experiences from the military, never had to fight a fire before so I can only tell you it’s like doing a BDA after spooky levels an objective.
‘The smells of burning metal and flesh on the gear he was carrying from dragging people out of some of the rubble.
‘Majority is too hot to touch. His boots and other rubber equipment were melted and unserviceable,’ he said.
‘The tears and smeared residue of dirt on his face tell a story he hasn’t been able to comprehend yet.’
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fire wreckage is shown Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens sounded before people ran for their lives from deadly wildfires that wiped out a historic town.
In this image obtained from the US Department of Defense, Honolulu Fire Department vehicles and personnel are secured onto a C-17 Globemaster III on August 10, 2023, at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu, Hawaii. A team comprised of firefighters, rescue specialists and incident management personnel, and disaster-relief cargo deployed to aid communities impacted by several wildfires
In this image obtained from the US Department of Defense, Staff Sgt. Trevor Connors loads supplies onto a C-17 Globemaster III on August 10, 2023, at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu, Hawaii
A view of the charred remains after wildfires engulfed the historic town of Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, U.S. August 9, 2023
President Biden and Kamala Harris will not travel immediately to Maui because they do not want to distract from the ongoing rescue effort, Vice President Harris said today.
The fire began on Tuesday, spreading quickly and ferociously. While the exact cause of it remains unclear, high winds, dry conditions and low humidity exacerbated the flames fatally.
Fifty-five people have been confirmed dead already and 1,000 remain missing three days on from the blaze, which incinerated the entire town of Lahaina.
The governor of Hawaii and mayor of Maui County say they have received generous help from Biden so far – but that they are still waiting for FEMA to arrive with hazmat crews who can begin searching buildings for bodies.
As she left Washington DC today, Vice President Harris told reporters that she and Biden do not want to hinder that effort.
As she left Washington DC today, Vice President Harris told reporters that she and Biden do not want to hinder that effort or be a ‘distraction’ in Hawaii
Harris says her and POTUS will be a distraction in Hawaii right now
‘We don’t want to distract from the resources that need to go in to the victims of this tragedy, and of course the needs of the first responders have to be able to focus on that issue and not worry about focusing on us (because) we’re there,’ she said as she boarded Air Force Two for Chicago.
On Thursday, cavalry was flown in from the military base in Pearl Harbor, Honolulu.
A massive search and rescue mission is now underway and cadaver dogs have also been brought in to help search for bodies among the ruins. In an interview this morning, the Mayor of Maui County said the bodies found so far have all been discovered in the street, outside properties. Search teams have not yet begun pulling bodies from homes and businesses.
An unknown number of people are also thought to have perished in their cars while trying to escape the hellish flames.
When the fire torched Lahaina, cell phone towers were incinerated along with every other structure.
It means that the town remains without phone service, and there is no internet, water, or power either and, crucially, that rescue teams cannot get in to help.
‘We as a local nonprofit are not able to even access anything west of Maalaea. West Maui is completely cut off from communication and power. That’s very fluid, but that’s sort of what we’re seeing at a hyperlocal level,’ Lauren Henrie for Maui Rescue Mission told CNN.
A view of damage cause by wildfires in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii. The entire town of Lahaina on the west side of Maui remains cut off with no power, water, internet or phone service
Residents of Lahaina survey the damage on Friday, August 11, three days after a catastrophic wildfire ripped through the town
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A group of desperate Lahaina residents cling to a piece of plywood in the ocean on Tuesday after jumping into the water to escape the hellish flames that have so far killed 55 people
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‘I think that number could go up. According to those doing the recovery – our police, Coast Guard and National Guard, that was the number they found of people outside of the buildings. We have not yet searched the interior of the buildings. We’re waiting for FEMA to help with that search.
‘They are equipped to handle the hazmat conditions of the buildings that have been burned,’ Mayor Richard Bissen told the TODAY show.
The West side of the island remains without power, water and communications.
‘They have no internet, no cell phone. That’s the challenge. We’ve been sending crews out with water….but our focus is on finding any missing persons. We want to give people information.’
Mayor Bissen added that he ‘couldn’t say’ whether the warning system had worked efficiently.
‘This was an impossible situation. The winds that hit us on that side of the island, the gusts were up to 80mph. Some sustained up to 45 and 60 mph. Everything happened so quickly.
‘I can’t comment on whether or not the sirens sounded or not but the fires came up so quickly and spread so fast. ‘
The footage shows desperate residents of Lahaina, one of the oldest, most historic towns on Maui, clinging on to the ocean wall for their life as brutal winds lashed them with sea water and embers from the fires flew overhead.
Some gathered together to cling on to a large piece of plyboard.
They were forced to wait in the ocean, bobbing helplessly, until they were rescued by the Coast Guard. In total, 50 people were rescued from the ocean in Lahaina.
As devastating new images and videos of the immediate aftermath of the fire continue to emerge, the families of those still unaccounted for are pleading for help.
Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens sounded before people ran for their lives from wildfires on Maui that killed at least 55 people and wiped out a historic town. Instead, officials sent alerts to mobile phones, televisions and radio stations — but widespread power and cellular outages may have limited their reach.
Hawaii boasts what the state describes as the largest integrated outdoor all-hazard public safety warning system in the world, with about 400 sirens positioned across the island chain to alert people to various natural disasters and other threats.
But many survivors said that they didn’t hear any sirens or receive a warning that gave them enough time to prepare and only realized they were in danger when they saw flames or heard explosions nearby. The wildfires are the state’s deadliest natural disaster since a 1960 tsunami that killed 61 people.
Celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Floyd Mayweather are assisting at local shelters.
Oprah was spotted handing out diapers, pillows, sheets and toiletries from Costco.
‘It’s overwhelming… but I’m really pleased to have so many people supporting… bringing what they can and doing what they can.’
Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen says he anticipates the death toll to rise as search teams begin pulling bodies from the interior of buildings
Hawaii’s ‘unprecedented’ wildfires razed a historic town and killed dozens of people after a hurricane hundreds of miles from the islands combined with dry conditions
Hawaii Gov: ‘largest natural disaster in state history’
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Downed power cables made evacuations perilous, officials said
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An eerie image from Thursday shows the smoldering ruins of the town of Lahaina
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A boat is left adrift with the port and dock destroyed in Lahaina
He described the devastation as unprecedented, saying Hawaii had not experienced anything like it since it became the 50th state in 1959.
‘We’ve never experienced a wildfire that affected a city before. We have had wildfires, but not in urban space. I think we’re seeing this for the first time in many different parts of the world.’
He said it was what happens when ‘global warming combines with drought.’
John Pelletier, chief of Maui police, said his officers were not equipped to go building-to-building in an unsafe environment searching for bodies, and stressed the job needed to be done sensitively.
‘We don’t normally go into buildings and pull out bodies. We need to do it slow and methodical, so we respect everything and bring people to the resting place the right way.’
Pressed on the death toll, he said: ‘It’s 53, it is rising. I don’t know what the final number will be.
‘It’s incredible. And it’s going to be devastating.’
Pelletier said the community was coming together, describing them as ‘Maui Strong’.
‘We have a scar on the face of Maui that will be here for a very long time. We know scars heal, but they always remain. We need patience, prayers, and perseverance.’
Jeff Hickman, the public affairs director for the Hawaii Department of Defense, said there were 30 burns victims, three of them seriously injured.
‘We’re going to have to go building by building, block by block, trying to find bodies,’ he said.
Then there will be an initial clean up, and then residents will be allowed to return.
‘It’s going to be a long process.’
He said they were trying to ‘get the visitors out and take care of the residents.’
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Burnt-out cars are seen on Wednesday in Lahaina
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Destroyed sections of Lahaina are pictured on Wednesday
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A man walks through the smoldering ruins of Lahaina on Wednesday
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Burnt out cars are seen after the fires ravaged parts of Maui
The cause of the wildfire remains unknown.
The National Weather Service said dry vegetation, strong winds, and low humidity fueled them.
Green said it was likely to prove a worse natural disaster than the tsunami of May 1960, sparked by an earthquake in Chile.
That tragedy left 61 people dead.
Hawaii is not immune to wildfires: in 2018, a total of 30,000 acres burnt, with flames fanned by Hurricane Lane.
This time, strong winds were caused by Hurricane Dora, which passed south of the islands.
Wildfires occur every year in Hawaii, according to Thomas Smith, an environmental geography professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science – but this year’s fires are burning faster and bigger than usual.
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A Hawaii Army National Guard member looks out the window as a CH47 Chinook performs an aerial water bucket drop on the Island of Maui on Wednesday
Smoke rises from ruins of Lahaina after devastating wildfire
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People watch the wildfires ripping through Lahaina on Tuesday
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Much of Lahaina has been burnt to the ground in the fires that blazed overnight on Tuesday
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The fire spread quickly through tinderbox-dry grass and rapidly engulfed the wooden houses of Lahaina
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Locals are seen walking through Lahaina on Wednesday, the morning after the fire
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People gather while waiting for flights at the Kahului Airport on Wednesday
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Crowds of people wait to board their flight from Kahului Airport on Wednesday
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Smoke billows near Lahaina as wildfires driven by high winds destroy a large part of the historic town of Lahaina
Famous Maui resort town razed by fatal wildfire
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Though at least 16 roads were closed, the airport was operating fully, he said.
Most of the roughly 400 evacuees at the War Memorial shelter on Thursday morning had arrived in shock, with an ’empty look,’ said Dr. Gerald Tariao Montano, a pediatrician who volunteered to work a six-hour shift on Wednesday night.
‘Some haven’t fully grasped that they lost everything,’ he said.
He pleaded for donations of clothes, supplies, food, baby formula and diapers.
The fate of some of Lahaina’s cultural treasures remains unclear.
The historic 60-foot-tall banyan tree marking the spot where Hawaiian King Kamehameha III’s 19th-century palace stood was still standing, though some of its boughs appeared charred, according to a Reuters witness.
Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration for Hawaii, allowing affected individuals and business owners to apply for federal housing and economic recovery grants, the White House said in a statement.
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The hall of historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission are engulfed in flames along Wainee Street on on Tuesday
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Maui fire victims have ‘napalm-like’ injuries similar to those seen in WW2 or Vietnam – as cadaver dogs are brought in to search for 1,000 missing after worst natural disaster to hit Hawaii in 60 years
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‘We don’t want to distract from the resources that need to go in to the victims of this tragedy, and of course the needs of the first responders have to be able to focus on that issue and not worry about focusing on us (because) we’re there,’ she said as she boarded Air Force Two for Chicago.
On Thursday, cavalry was flown in from the military base in Pearl Harbor, Honolulu.
A massive search and rescue mission is now underway and cadaver dogs have also been brought in to help search for bodies among the ruins. In an interview this morning, the Mayor of Maui County said the bodies found so far have all been discovered in the street, outside properties. Search teams have not yet begun pulling bodies from homes and businesses.
An unknown number of people are also thought to have perished in their cars while trying to escape the hellish flames.
When the fire torched Lahaina, cell phone towers were incinerated along with every other structure.
It means that the town remains without phone service, and there is no internet, water, or power either and, crucially, that rescue teams cannot get in to help.
‘We as a local nonprofit are not able to even access anything west of Maalaea. West Maui is completely cut off from communication and power. That’s very fluid, but that’s sort of what we’re seeing at a hyperlocal level,’ Lauren Henrie for Maui Rescue Mission told CNN.
- Watch videoSecurity camera footage shows final moments before Bali lift crash
- Watch videoInside look at Delta flight after passenger had diarrhea
- Watch videoBali hotel workers lose their life falling after lift cable snaps
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Hawaii’s ‘unprecedented’ wildfires razed a historic town and killed dozens of people after a hurricane hundreds of miles from the islands combined with dry conditions
Coercion Code - "Dark Times are upon us" 
“GRAPHIC: THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE AND CARS LOOK LIKE AFTER THEY ARE HIT WITH A DIRECT ENERGY WEAPON”
It is unclear at this time if this was from Maui, however this is what energy weapons do to vehicles and people. We were attacked in Maui by our own government.
https://www.bitchute.com/video/bE5L3J79OM11/