‘It looked like a war movie’: Chaos and confusion for survivors escaping Hawaii wildfires
A teenager who jumped in the ocean to flee the deadly wildfires in Hawaii has said his family probably would have died if they hadn’t stuck together.
Noah Tomkinson, 19, was with his younger brother Milo, 13, and their mother in the historic town of Lahaina when the flames began to spread dangerously close.
They jumped into the Pacific Ocean where they waded in the water for five hours.
“We kind of had it in the back of our minds the whole time that we wanted to be next to the water so [when] things got really bad we could save ourselves by jumping into the ocean, and that is what it came to,” Mr Tomkinson said.
“If we’d walked across the street we would have been in the fire.”
Mr Tomkinson said he and his brother huddled around their mother to keep her warm.
“We didn’t save her, she also saved us.
“If any of us were alone I don’t know if we would have made it.
“It was the fact that all of us were together that helped us the most.”
Milo said: “I was just trying to survive, I was in survival mode.”
Once the flames had died down the family decided it was safe enough to go back to the shore.
Noah, right, and Milo Tomkinson
‘It looked like something out of a war movie’
Mike and Andreza Cicchino also had a dramatic escape from the fires in Lahaina.
The couple, who own a dog-sitting company, loaded five of the dogs they were looking after into a truck when they saw nearby houses on fire.
“It was pretty intense, you could see everybody running for their lives, people crying, people handing their babies to other people,” Mr Cicchino told Sky News.
Mike and Andreza Cicchino
He described chaos as “the smoke got so intense, we didn’t even know where to go” and the emergency services did not know where to send people, leading people to get stuck in traffic amid blocked roads.
They had to abandon their vehicle only to find they were surrounded by fire ahead of them and behind them.
He said they then took cover behind a seawall, which “protected us for most of the night”.
“We had to keep going out in the water, coming back in. We were even getting burnt in the water. There were times when the smoke cleared and I ran down to help other people, I tried to help as many people as I could. There’s babies and people that we never saw again. There’s bodies and people burnt.
“It looked like something out of a war movie. Like a bomb just went off in our town.
“During the whole time when we were hiding from the fire, just imagine hiding behind the wall with a giant blowtorch going over that wall. So you have 70mph fires, even on the other side of that wall you’re crunching down and the fire is still hitting you. It was one of the most terrifying experiences of our life.
“There’s times we didn’t think we were going to survive. We were going to pass out from just the smoke inhalation. The whole ordeal that we went through was at least 12 hours.”
Ms Cicchino said she struggled because she is not a good swimmer, adding: “It was horrible. I am traumatised.”
The couple were able to save four out of five of the dogs.
Read more on the wildfires:
Veteran says they are worse than Afghanistan
King ‘utterly horrified’ by Hawaii wildfires
Before and after shots show impact of Maui blaze
At least 93 people have been confirmed dead after the wildfires in Hawaii – with the state’s governor warning the figure will rise.
It makes the disaster the deadliest wildfire the US has seen in the past century, surpassing the 85 who died in California’s Camp Fire in 2018.
Governor Josh Green told reporters it had been “an impossible day” on Saturday but that fire crews and police had been “extraordinary”.
He said it was the largest natural disaster the US state had ever faced.
It comes as workers use axes and dogs to search through charred remains of properties on Lahaina on the island of Maui.
Ruined homes are being marked with an orange X for an initial search and HR if human remains have been found.
Authorities are urging people with missing family members to give DNA samples to help authorities identify victims.
The Americans were given the full VIP treatment on their visit to Moscow.
There was a motorcade from the airport, lunch at a Michelin-starred restaurant, and even a stroll around Red Square.
It felt like Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were on more of a tourist trail than the path to peace.
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Trump’s envoys walk around Moscow
They finally got down to business in the Kremlin more than six hours after arriving in Russia. And by that point, it was already clear that the one thing they had come to Moscow for wasn’t on offer: Russia’s agreement to their latest peace plan.
According to Vladimir Putin, it’s all Europe’s fault. While his guests were having lunch, he was busy accusing Ukraine’s allies of blocking the peace process by imposing demands that are unacceptable to Russia.
The Europeans, of course, would say it’s the other way round.
But where there was hostility to Europe, only hospitality to the Americans – part of Russia’s strategy to distance the US from its NATO allies, and bring them back to Moscow’s side.
Vladimir Putin and Steve Witkoff shaking hands in August. AP file pic
Putin thinks he’s winning…
Russia wants to return to the 28-point plan that caved in to its demands. And it believes it has the right to because of what’s happening on the battlefield.
It’s no coincidence that on the eve of the US delegation’s visit to Moscow, Russia announced the apparent capture of Pokrovsk, a key strategic target in the Donetsk region.
It was a message designed to assert Russian dominance, and by extension, reinforce its demands rather than dilute them.
Read more:
Michael Clarke answers your Ukraine war questions
‘Thousands’ of Westerners applying to live in Russia
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘Everyone must be on this side of peace’
…and believes US-Russian interests are aligned
The other reason I think Vladimir Putin doesn’t feel the need to compromise is because he believes Moscow and Washington want the same thing: closer US-Russia relations, which can only come after the war is over.
It’s easy to see why. Time and again in this process, the US has defaulted to a position that favours Moscow. The way these negotiations are being conducted is merely the latest example.
With Kyiv, the Americans force the Ukrainians to come to them – first in Geneva, then Florida.
As for Moscow, it’s the other way around. Witkoff is happy to make the long overnight journey, and then endure the long wait ahead of any audience with Putin.
It all gives the impression that when it comes to Russia, the US prefers to placate rather than pressure.
According to the Kremlin, both Russia and the US have agreed not to disclose the details of yesterday’s talks in Moscow.
I doubt Volodymyr Zelenskyy is filled with hope.
FIFA has backed away from using dynamic pricing for all 2026 World Cup tickets amid concerns about the cost of attending the tournament in North America.
The organisers insisted they always planned to ring-fence tickets at set prices to follow your own team.
But the announcement comes just days ahead of Friday’s tournament draw in Washington DC, which Donald Trump plans to attend.
Fans will have to wait until Saturday to know exactly where and when their teams will be playing in next summer’s tournament.
Scotland will be one of the teams in the tournament, held in North America and Mexico
Variable pricing – fluctuating based on demand – has never been used at a World Cup before, raising concerns about affordability.
England and Scotland fans have been sharing images in recent days of ticket website images highlighting cost worries.
But world football’s governing body said in a statement to Sky News: “FIFA can confirm ringfenced allocations are being set aside for specific fan categories, as has been the case at previous FIFA World Cups. These allocations will be set at a fixed price for the duration of the next ticket sales phase.
“The ringfenced allocations include tickets reserved for supporters of the Participating Member Associations (PMAs), who will be allocated 8% of the tickets for each match in which they take part, including all conditional knockout stage matches.”
FIFA says the cheapest tickets are from $60 (£45) in the group stage. But the most expensive tickets for the final are $6,730 (£5,094).
There will also be a sales window after the draw from 11 December to 13 January when ticket applications will be based on a fixed price for those buying in the random selection draw.
It is the biggest World Cup with 104 matches after the event was expanded from 32 to 48 teams. There are also three host nations for the first time – with Canada and Mexico the junior partners.
The tournament mascots as seen in Mexico in October. Pic: Reuters
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FIFA defended using fluctuating pricing.
“The pricing model adopted for FIFA World Cup 26 reflects the existing market practice for major entertainment and sporting events within our hosts on a daily basis, soccer included,” FIFA’s statement continued.
“This is also a reflection of the treatment of the secondary market for tickets, which has a distinct legal treatment than in many other parts of the world. We are focused on ensuring fair access to our game for existing but also prospective fans.”
The statement addressed the concerns being raised about fans being priced out of attending.
FIFA said: “Stadium category maps do not reflect the number of tickets available in a given category but rather present default seating locations.
“FIFA resale fees are aligned with North American industry trends across various sports and entertainment sectors.”
Ireland, Northern Ireland and Wales could also still qualify.
The Americans were given the full VIP treatment on their visit to Moscow.
There was a motorcade from the airport, lunch at a Michelin-starred restaurant, and even a stroll around Red Square.
It felt like Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were on more of a tourist trail than the path to peace.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Trump’s envoys walk around Moscow
They finally got down to business in the Kremlin more than six hours after arriving in Russia. And by that point, it was already clear that the one thing they had come to Moscow for wasn’t on offer: Russia’s agreement to their latest peace plan.
According to Vladimir Putin, it’s all Europe’s fault. While his guests were having lunch, he was busy accusing Ukraine’s allies of blocking the peace process by imposing demands that are unacceptable to Russia.
The Europeans, of course, would say it’s the other way round.
But where there was hostility to Europe, only hospitality to the Americans – part of Russia’s strategy to distance the US from its NATO allies, and bring them back to Moscow’s side.
Vladimir Putin and Steve Witkoff shaking hands in August. AP file pic
Putin thinks he’s winning…
Russia wants to return to the 28-point plan that caved in to its demands. And it believes it has the right to because of what’s happening on the battlefield.
It’s no coincidence that on the eve of the US delegation’s visit to Moscow, Russia announced the apparent capture of Pokrovsk, a key strategic target in the Donetsk region.
It was a message designed to assert Russian dominance, and by extension, reinforce its demands rather than dilute them.
Read more:
Michael Clarke answers your Ukraine war questions
‘Thousands’ of Westerners applying to live in Russia
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘Everyone must be on this side of peace’
…and believes US-Russian interests are aligned
The other reason I think Vladimir Putin doesn’t feel the need to compromise is because he believes Moscow and Washington want the same thing: closer US-Russia relations, which can only come after the war is over.
It’s easy to see why. Time and again in this process, the US has defaulted to a position that favours Moscow. The way these negotiations are being conducted is merely the latest example.
With Kyiv, the Americans force the Ukrainians to come to them – first in Geneva, then Florida.
As for Moscow, it’s the other way around. Witkoff is happy to make the long overnight journey, and then endure the long wait ahead of any audience with Putin.
It all gives the impression that when it comes to Russia, the US prefers to placate rather than pressure.
According to the Kremlin, both Russia and the US have agreed not to disclose the details of yesterday’s talks in Moscow.
I doubt Volodymyr Zelenskyy is filled with hope.
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