President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency in Hawaii (REUTERS / Jonathan Ernst)
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, declared a state of emergency due to disaster in Hawaii on Thursday due to the forest fires that are affecting the island of Maui above all, where according to official sources there is “widespread devastation”.
This was stated to CNN by the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Deanne Criswell, who stated that “widespread devastation is being seen in many different neighborhoods on Maui,” with most of the fires still out of control.
In fact, he explained, the agency’s presence in the area is still small, with a “limited” ability to locate people. After a first official count, there are so far 36 deaths while thousands of people are being evacuated from the island.
President Biden decided this Thursday to declare a state of emergency for the “great disaster in the state of Hawaii” and ordered the sending of federal aid to complement state and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by the wildfires that began on the 8th of August.
Biden spoke by phone with Hawaii Governor Josh Green and expressed his deep condolences for the lives lost and the extensive destruction of land and property.
Fires in Hawaii leave at least 36 dead, according to Maui County
The most affected by forest fires is the island of Maui
While thousands of citizens, many of them tourists, try to escape the island, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) decided Thursday to restrict airspace in the area near the city of Lahaina, devastated by the fire, and also in the Kihei and Kula areas, all to facilitate rescue efforts.
The authorities are asking the inhabitants and visitors to the area to leave it “as soon as possible” given the “limited” resources to face this crisis, Maui County admitted in a statement.
Although several Hawaiian islands are affected, the greatest damage is being suffered by Maui, from where 11,000 people were evacuated on Wednesday according to CNN, while at least another 1,500 are expected to leave the island this Thursday.
Airlines are offering low ticket prices to promote departure and arranging new flights out of Maui.
The images show completely destroyed areas, especially in towns like Lahaina, a historic town in West Maui and one of the most touristy areas on the island.
“Virtually the entire city has burned, the entire historic area, homes and businesses,” Air Maui Helicopters director of operations Richie Olsten told CNN.
An aerial view shows smoke as wildfires rage across the island of Maui, Hawaii (County of Maui/Handout via REUTERS)
Olsten explained that there are hundreds of people in shelters, such as Memorial Stadium, but many “have nowhere to go” because not enough shelters have been set up yet.
The Maui County Twitter account constantly updates information about the shelters that are being set up or the areas where drinking water can be found.
In any case, the message from the authorities is clear, they ask all those who are in danger zones to try to get out.
According to the authorities, the severe drought that has affected the islands in recent months and the strong winds from Hurricane Dora have caused the flames to spread much faster.
General Kenneth Hara, deputy head of the National Guard in Hawaii, also explained that the force of the winds has made the extinction work difficult.
“The road to recovery will be long,” Maui Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke warned last night.
Smoke and flames rise in Lahaina, Maui County, Hawaii (Jeff Melichar/TMX/via REUTERS)
The Pentagon activated 134 members of the National Guard, a reserve military corps, on Thursday to help with rescue and firefighting efforts.
The spokesman for the US Department of Defense, General Pat Ryder, said at a press conference that the National Guard will provide two Chinook helicopters to support the work of extinguishing the flames and in the rescue missions.
In addition, the Army-Navy 25th Aviation Brigade sent four Blackhawk helicopters and one Chinook to Hawaii, supporting firefighters and the Coast Guard.
Ryder added that those troops have rescued 14 survivors in the waters of Hawaii, where they had taken refuge to protect themselves from the fire and smoke.
The spokesman pointed out that, along with this mobilization, there are some 200 marines, stationed in Papua New Guinea, who are prepared to deploy in the Hawaiian archipelago if necessary.
With information from EFE