A wildfire that swept through the picturesque resort town of Lahaina on Hawaii’s Maui island has killed at least 36 people, authorities said, while leaving smoldering ruins in its wake and forcing thousands to flee.
Video footage showed neighborhoods and businesses razed and vehicles burned to a crisp across the western side of the U.S. island as the wildfires cut off most roads out of Lahaina, the historic former capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
The town is one of Maui’s prime attractions, drawing 2 million tourists to the island each year, or about 80 percent of its visitors.
The cause in Maui had yet to be determined, but the National Weather Service said the fires were fueled by a mix of dry vegetation, strong winds, and low humidity.
Maui resident Dustin Kaleiopu on Thursday said his family, now relocated to the other side of the island, had only had minutes to evacuate and lost two generational family homes to the flames.
Such scenes of devastation have become all too familiar elsewhere in the world.
Wildfires, often caused by record-setting heat this summer, forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people in Greece, Spain, Portugal and other parts of Europe.
In western Canada, a series of unusually severe fires sent clouds of smoke over vast swaths of the U.S., polluting the air.
Human-caused climate change, driven by fossil fuel use, is increasing the frequency and intensity of such extreme weather events, scientists say, having long warned that countries must slash emissions to prevent climate catastrophe.
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 because of the low rainfall, higher temperatures, and nearby storm systems.
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