Maui firefighters are still reliving the deadly wildfire inferno
Maui firefighters are opening up about the moments of terror and heroism that marked the August day when a raging wildfire engulfed Lahaina.
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Maui firefighters are opening up about the moments of terror and heroism that marked the August day when a raging wildfire engulfed Lahaina.
Eight Maui firefighters were trapped by flames, abandoned cars, and downed poles this summer during the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. They went on to save others after they escaped.
CBS News found at least a dozen natural disasters in the U.S. during the last decade where local emergency officials failed to issue alerts in time to save lives or, in some cases, didn't issue an alert or evacuation order at all. CBS News national investigative correspondent Stephen Stock reports.
Each year, 15,000 native Hawaiians leave the state for the mainland, which now boasts a larger Hawaiian population than Hawaii itself.
Newly-released police bodycam footage captured the chaos and devastation which confronted officers as they responded to the wildfire in Lahaina, Maui, in August, as flames tore through the historic town. The island's warning sirens did not sound, and with no fire trucks in sight, officers cut fences to try and create an escape path. Jonathon Vigliotti has more.
Maui police released body camera footage Monday showing officers trying to evacuate Lahaina residents during the deadly wildfire in August. CBS News correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti covered the fires extensively and reports on the hectic response.
Parts of western Maui reopened to visitors on Sunday just two months after wildfires destroyed the historic town of Lahaina. Officials hope an influx of tourism will help the ongoing recovery. Jonathan Vigliotti has more.
Residents of Lahaina, Hawaii, are returning to their properties nearly seven weeks after wildfires devasted the area. CBS News national correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti reports.
Some Maui residents were able to return for the first time since the fires that leveled the historic town of Lahaina. Many found that there was little left. Jonathan Vigliotti reports.
West Maui includes the historic town of Lahaina, which was devastated by the Maui wildfires.
He did not immediately elaborate on why the death toll had been projected by Maui County officials at 115 for several weeks.
They'll have escorts and will be given protective gear. "We don't want to traumatize or hurt anyone more than they've been hurt to date," one official says.
The revised number of people missing was a startling drop from the list released last week in which 385 people were still listed as missing.
The updated total was a startling departure from what had been expected. A day earlier Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said he believed the number would drop "into the double digits."
If Maui wildfire survivors lost their necessary medication, "it would be another disaster," said Dr. Cory Lehano. "We have the ability to take care of these people ... so let's do it."
Officials in Maui face tough questions about their disaster response following the deadliest wildfires in the U.S. in more than a century. CBS News national correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti reports.
The blaze that engulfed Lahaina was the deadliest U.S. wildfire in over a century. Weeks later, Maui officials are facing questions over how they responded to the fires. Jonathan Vigliotti has the story.
As people on Maui report coughing up "black stuff" and blood, one resident says, "Come back 20 years later, 10 years later, and you'll see how many native people are sick."
Officials first told tourists with plans to travel to Maui to stay away. Now, the message has changed.
The Lahaina fire – the most devastating of the blazes – burned an estimated 2,170 acres.
Dry conditions and strong wind fueled wildfires on the Big Island and Maui, where blazes spread in Lahaina as well as inland.
The fire prompted an evacuation order for a residential area of Lahaina in the hills above Kaanapali resort hotels.
Within a day of the list's release, more than 100 of those on the list or their relatives came forward to say they're safe, the FBI said Friday.
Hawaii has relied on tourism for decades, but since the devastating wildfires, unemployment claims have spiked. James Tokioka, director of Hawaii's Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, joins CBS News to discuss what people can do to help.
Witness accounts and video indicated that sparks from power lines ignited fires as utility poles snapped in the winds, which were driven by a passing hurricane.