The death toll on the Hawaiian island of Maui It amounts to 67 after the authorities confirmed another 12 deaths as a result of a massive fire that turned wide swaths of a century-old city into a hellish landscape of ashen rubble.
Maui County said in a statement posted online that firefighters are continuing to battle the fire, which is still not under control. Meanwhile, the inhabitants of Lahaina they were allowed to return to their homes for the first time to assess the damage.
Journalists from The Associated Press witnessed the devastation, in which nearly all buildings were reduced to rubble on Front Street, the heart of the Maui community and the economic center of the island. The roosters, known for roaming the streets of Hawaimeandered through the ashes of what was left, including a chilling gridlock of the charred remains of dozens of cars that failed to make it out of hell.
Burning cars crushed by fallen telephone poles. Charred elevator shafts stand as testimonials to the burnt-out apartment buildings they once served. Pools filled with charcoal-colored water. Children’s trampolines and scooters disfigured by extreme heat.
“It hit so fast, it was unbelievable,” he said. Kyle Scharnhorst, a Lahaina resident, while surveying the damage at his apartment complex Friday morning. “It was like a war zone.”