Hawaii wildfires: At least 36 people dead after flames destroy large parts of town in Maui

Published

2 years ago

August 10, 2023

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At least 36 people have died after wildfires rampaged through parts of the Hawaiian island of Maui.

Maui County confirmed the deaths after fires, fuelled by the wind, swept across the historic town of Lahaina, West Maui – leading to mass evacuations.

“The gravity of losing any life is tragic. As we grieve with their families, we offer prayers for comfort in this inconsolable time,” Maui mayor Richard Bissen Jr said.

“Our main focus now is to save lives.”

Acting governor Sylvia Luke has declared a state of emergency and has urged people not to travel to the island, describing it as “not a safe place to be”.

As winds eased slightly, some aircraft resumed flights, enabling pilots to view the full scope of the devastation.

Aerial video from coastal Lahaina showed dozens of homes and businesses flattened, including in Front Street, where tourists gathered to shop and dine.

Smoking heaps of rubble lay piled high next to the waterfront, boats in the harbour were scorched, and grey smoke hovered over the leafless skeletons of charred trees.

More than 270 structures have been damaged or destroyed so far, according to officials in Lahaina.

The town dates back to the 1700s, was once the capital of Hawaii and the seat of Kamehameha III during its period as a kingdom in the 1800s, and has long been a favourite destination for tourists.

“It’s horrifying. I’ve flown here 52 years and I’ve never seen anything come close to this,” said Richard Olsten, a helicopter pilot for a tour company.

He said he went up in a helicopter to review the damage and see what help him and his team could provide to emergency crews.

“We were totally shocked at what we saw. We did not expect to see the extent of the destruction of Lahaina,” he told Sky News.

“Basically, the whole Front Street of Lahaina, all the shops, the historical buildings, everything, has been burnt right to the ground.

“There are hundreds of people homeless, there’s still no power in the whole town, people can’t get access to food, so it was just an absolutely heart-wrenching site.

“And the really sad part about it too is the loss of the historical buildings on Front Street that can’t be rebuilt – so that whole area is levelled to the ground.”

British rockstar Mick Fleetwood, who has lived in Hawaii for decades, revealed his restaurant had been lost due to the blaze in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The Fleetwood Mac drummer wrote: “Fleetwood’s on Front Street has been lost and while we are heartbroken, our main priority is the safety of our dear staff and team members.

“On behalf of myself and my family, I share my heartfelt thoughts and prayers with the people of Maui.”

US President Joe Biden offered his “deepest condolences” to the people of Hawaii – the country’s 50th state.

“Our prayers are with those whose homes, businesses, and communities are destroyed,” he said in a post on X.

“I have ordered all available federal assets on the Islands to help with response.

“And I urge all residents to continue to follow evacuation orders, listen to the instructions of first responders and officials, and stay alert.”

It comes after three residents were left with critical burns after being forced to jump into the ocean, as wildfires affected the popular shopping and dining area known as Front Street.

Posting on X on Tuesday, the Coast Guard said 12 people had been rescued from the water off Lahaina.

The Coast Guard responded to areas where people had fled into the ocean to escape the fire and smoky conditions, the county said in a statement on Tuesday.

The governor of Hawaii, Josh Green, said on Wednesday that “loss of life is expected”.

“We have suffered a terrible disaster in the form of a wildfire that has spread widely as a result of hurricane-force winds in the region and underlying drought conditions,” he said.

“Maui and the Big Island both experienced significant fires. Much of Lahaina on Maui has been destroyed and hundreds of local families have been displaced.”

At least 20 other patients were taken to Maui Memorial Medical Centre on Tuesday, Speedy Bailey, regional director for air-ambulance company Hawaii Life Flight, said.

Footage posted overnight showed flames affecting numerous buildings in the historic town centre, which dates back to the 1700s, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Some blocks of buildings were completely reduced to ash.

Kaniela Ing, who grew up in the area and co-founded the Native Hawaiian-focused organization Our Hawaii, described the destruction as “heartbreaking”.

“If you start from one end of Front Street and walk to the other end, it’s like a physical timeline of the history of the Hawaiian Kingdom,” Mr Ing he told NBC – the US partner of Sky News.

“You can actually see the flow in the buildings stemming back 150 or more years. It’s remarkable, and just the thought that that history may have been lost in this fire or any bit of that history is heartbreaking.”

More than 2,100 people spent the night in four shelters on the island.

Kahului Airport, the main airport in Maui, was sheltering 2,000 passengers who had their flights cancelled or had only recently arrived at the island, the county said.

The National Weather Service said Hurricane Dora, which was passing to the south of the island chain, was partly to blame for gusts above 60mph (97kph).

The wind knocked out electricity, rattled homes and grounded firefighting helicopters. Flights resumed on Wednesday as the strong winds somewhat diminished.

The exact cause of the blaze has not yet been determined.

However, high winds, low humidity and dry vegetation, are likely to have contributed, according to Major General Kenneth Hara, adjutant general for Hawaii State Department of Defence.

Experts have also warned that climate change is increasing the likelihood of more extreme weather.

“Climate change in many parts of the world is increasing vegetation dryness, in large part because temperatures are hotter,” said Erica Fleishman, director of the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute at Oregon State University.

Hawaii’s Big Island have also been affected by fires, although no injuries or destroyed homes had been reported there.

Mayor Mitch Roth said one fire is “pretty much under control,” another is 60% contained, and a third, near the hotel Mauna Kea Resorts, continued to flare up.

However, authorities have insisted that while West Maui is closed to tourists due to the wildfires, the state of Hawaii itself remains “open” and that rooms are available on the Big Island for those still hoping to travel.

US

RFK Jr announces US is scrapping $500m of vaccine projects

Published

7 hours ago

August 6, 2025

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RFK Jr announces US is scrapping 0m of vaccine projects

America’s vaccine-sceptic health secretary has announced $500m (£375.8m) worth of cuts to their development in the country.

The US health department is cancelling contracts and pulling funding for jabs to fight viruses like COVID-19 and the flu, it was announced on Tuesday.

Robert F Kennedy Jr, known as RFK Jr, said 22 projects developing mRNA vaccines will be halted. It is the latest in a series of decisions to reduce US vaccine programmes.

The health secretary has fired the panel that makes vaccine recommendations, reduced recommendations for COVID-19 shots, and refused to endorse vaccines despite a worsening measles outbreak.

RFK Jr claims the US will now prioritise “safer, broader vaccine strategies, like whole-virus vaccines and novel platforms that don’t collapse when viruses mutate”.

Responding to the announcement of cuts, Mike Osterholm, a University of Minnesota expert on infectious diseases and pandemic preparations, said: “I don’t think I’ve seen a more dangerous decision in public health in my 50 years in the business.”

Dr Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said RFK Jr’s move was short-sighted and that mRNA vaccines “certainly saved millions of lives”, including during the pandemic.

MRNA vaccines work by delivering a snippet of genetic code into the body that triggers an immune response, rather than introducing a real version of the virus.

According to the UK Health Security Agency, the “leading advantage of mRNA vaccines is that they can be designed and produced more quickly than traditional vaccines”.

Moderna, which was studying a combo mRNA shot that can tackle COVID and flu for the US health department, previously said it believed mRNA could speed up production of flu jabs compared with traditional vaccines.

Scientists are also exploring how mRNA could be used in cancer immunotherapies and in other illnesses.

At the White House earlier this year, billionaire tech entrepreneur Larry Ellison praised mRNA for its potential to treat cancer.

RFK Jr touts ‘effective’ alternative

The health department said the abandoned mRNA projects signal a “shift in vaccine development priorities.”

“Let me be absolutely clear, HHS supports safe, effective vaccines for every American who wants them,” Mr Kennedy said in a statement.

Later, he said work is underway on an alternative – a “universal vaccine” that mimics “natural immunity”.

“It could be effective – we believe it’s going to be effective – against not only coronaviruses, but also flu,” he said.

US

Bill and Hillary Clinton subpoenaed in Jeffrey Epstein probe

Published

7 hours ago

August 6, 2025

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Bill and Hillary Clinton subpoenaed in Jeffrey Epstein probe

The US House Oversight Committee has issued subpoenas for depositions with former president Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton relating to the sex trafficking investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.

The Republican-controlled committee also subpoenaed the Justice Department for files relating to the paedophile financier, as well as eight former top law enforcement officials.

Donald Trump has denied prior knowledge of Epstein‘s crimes, claiming he ended their relationship a long time ago.

The US president has repeatedly tried to draw a line under the Justice Department’s decision not to release a full accounting of the investigation, but politicians from both major political parties, as well as many in Mr Trump’s political base, have refused to drop their interest in the Epstein files.

Epstein died in a New York jail cell in 2019 awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, and since then, conspiracy theories have swirled about what information investigators gathered on him and who else may have been involved in his crimes.

Republicans on the House Oversight Committee initiated the subpoenas for the Clintons last month, as well as demanding all communications between former president Joe Biden’s Democrat administration and the Justice Department about Epstein.

The committee previously issued a subpoena for an interview with Epstein’s former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, who had been serving a prison sentence in Florida for luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein. She was recently transferred to another facility in Texas.

Mr Clinton was among those acquainted with Epstein before the criminal investigation against him in Florida became public two decades ago. He has never been accused of wrongdoing by any of the women who say Epstein abused them.

Mr Clinton previously said, through a spokesperson, that while he travelled on Epstein’s jet, he never visited his homes and had no knowledge of his crimes.

This is a rare escalation

The subpoenaing of former president Bill Clinton is an escalation, both legally and politically.

Historically, it is rare for congressional oversight to demand deposition from former presidents of the United States.

Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend and accomplice, had already been summonsed.

But the House Oversight Committee has now added Bill and Hillary Clinton, several former Attorneys General and former FBI directors to its list.

It signals bipartisan momentum – Democrats voting with Republicans for transparency.

The committee will now hear from several people with known ties to Epstein, his connection with Bill Clinton having been well-documented.

But the subpoenas set up a potential clash between Congress and the Department of Justice.

Donald Trump, the candidate, had vowed to release them. A government led by Mr Trump, the president, chose not to.

If Attorney General Pam Bondi still refuses to release the files, it will fuel claims of a constitutional crisis in the United States.

But another day of Epstein headlines demonstrates the enduring public interest in this case.

The subpoenas give the Justice Department until 19 August to hand over the requested records.

The committee is also asking the former officials to appear for depositions throughout August, September and October, concluding with Hillary Clinton on 9 October and Bill Clinton on 14 October.

Although several former presidents, including Mr Trump, have been issued congressional subpoenas, none has ever appeared before members under compulsion.

Last month, Mr Trump instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to release information presented to the grand jury that indicted Maxwell for helping Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls.

US

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs ‘seeks pardon from Trump’

Published

9 hours ago

August 6, 2025

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Sean 'Diddy' Combs 'seeks pardon from Trump'

Sean “Diddy” Combs has been in contact with Donald Trump about a pardon, a source close to the rapper’s legal team has told Sky News’ US partner network NBC News.

A White House spokesperson said it “will not comment on the existence or nonexistence of any clemency request”.

On Tuesday, the rapper was denied bail ahead of his sentencing in October, when he could face up to 20 years in prison after he was convicted of prostitution-related offences.

The sentence will likely be much shorter than that, however.

In July, he was found guilty of two counts of transportation for prostitution – but cleared of more serious charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex-trafficking, which carried potential life sentences.

During an interview with news channel Newsmax last Friday, Mr Trump said “they have talked to me about Sean” but did not announce any decision.

The president seemed to cast doubt that he would grant a pardon, however.

“You know, I was very friendly with him. I got along with him great. And seemed like a nice guy, I didn’t know him well,” Trump said. “But when I ran for office, he was very hostile.”

“I don’t know,” Trump said. “It makes it more – I’m being honest, it makes it more difficult to do.”

Trump was then asked, “more likely a ‘no’ for Combs?”

Trump responded: “I would say so.”

Combs, who co-founded Bad Boy Records and launched the career of the late Notorious BIG, was for decades a huge figure in pop culture, as well as a Grammy-winning hip-hop artist and business entrepreneur, who presided over an empire ranging from fashion to reality TV.

Now, as well as the criminal conviction, he is also facing several civil lawsuits.