People are fleeing into the sea to escape raging wildfires on Maui and Hawaii’s Big Island. “The fire can be a mile or more from your house, but in a minute or two, it can be at your house,” Fire Assistant Chief Jeff Giesea told reporters. The fast-spreading blazes, fueled by winds from passing Hurricane Dora, forced evacuations, caused power outages, and burned at least two homes along with much of downtown Lahaina. “Buildings on both sides were engulfed. There were no fire trucks at that point; I think the fire department was overwhelmed,” Front Street business owner Alan Dickar told Hawaii News Now. “That is the most important business street on Maui.”
Maui County officials said the people who fled into the ocean to escape the smoke and fire conditions were transported by the Coast Guard to a safe area. Maui County is one of the dozens of states and municipalities across the country suing fossil fuel companies for — allegedly — conspiring to deceive the public about climate science and the climate-heating impacts of their products. (CNN, Hawaii News Now, AP)