The situation in Hawaii seems to get worse with every passing second.
Complete areas of Maui have been devastated, reduced to nothing but ash, reported the New York Times.
Recent pictures from the historic area of Lahaina have gone from some of the most beautiful and picturesque scenery to what amounts to a black-and-white photo of utter horror.
Sad Days
Only days ago, Lahaina was bustling with tourist activity. Shops were loaded with people spending money and the sidewalk cafes were packed.
Today, the town, for all intents and purposes, is gone.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green stated, “Lahaina, with a few rare exceptions, has been burned down.” That is far from an exaggeration, as it is estimated that more than 1,000 structures have already been completely destroyed and there are fires still burning in the area.
This will be Hawaii’s biggest disaster since the tsunami of 1960 that hit the big island and killed 61 people.
Bodies are being found all over the place, some in their cars who were trying to flee the area.
Local business owner (now former) Tiffany Kidder Winn stated, “It looked like they were trying to get out, but were stuck in traffic and couldn’t get off Front Street.” Landmarks that have stood forever are just gone.
Adam Weintraub, a spokesperson for Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, stated, “We are still in life preservation mode. Search and rescue is still a primary concern,” reports AP News.
Marlon Vasquez, who works as a cook on the island described the horror.
He stated, “I opened the door, and the fire was almost on top of us. We ran and ran. We ran almost the whole night and into the next day, because the fire didn’t stop.”
The sad reality is that the death toll of 53 is likely to increase many times over by the time this is all cleaned up.
The loss of life, the loss of business, and the loss of one of the most beautiful places in our country… it’s just all gone.
