Native Hawaiian in Atlanta says Maui fires aftermath ‘looks like a bomb’
How you can help those impacted by the Maui fires
The Coast Guard is expanding its role in the search and rescue efforts in Maui’s wildfires as the death toll continues to climb to nearly 70. Several fires have been burning on the island since Tuesday and officials say none of them is fully contained. The fire also burned cell towers and phone lines making communication tougher than normal.
ATLANTA - At least 67 people are dead, thousands are missing, and at least four wildfires are continuing to burn on Hawaii’s island of Maui on Friday.
Fueled by a dry summer and strong winds from a passing hurricane, wildfires erupted on Maui this week, racing through parched brush covering the island.
The most serious one left Lahaina a grid of gray, ashen rubble, wedged between the blue ocean and lush green slopes. Skeletal remains of buildings bowed under roofs that pancaked in the blaze. Palm trees were torched, boats in the harbor were scorched and the stench of burning lingered.
People in Atlanta with ties to Hawaii are now asking for the Atlanta community’s help. Mesha Sternthall, who is originally from Maui, but now lives in Grant Park, is heartbroken.
"It’s not a fire. It looks like a bomb," Sternthall said.
Sternthall has watched flames consume her hometown of Maui all the way from Atlanta with a broken heart.
"I feel so helpless and it’s a really tough situation to be in because they are not able to get any communication. There’s no cell service or power on that side of the island," she said.
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Her friends and family are devastated.
Her dad was evacuated from his home to the south side of the island.
On the phone, he described a war zone.
"There’s not really much of Lahaina, no grocery stores, no drug stores, and there’s no power, and they couldn’t even be open anyway," said Bob Sternthall.
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Sternthall says her biggest message to people on the mainland is stay away from all of Hawaii right now. That vacation needs to wait.
"Even if you do have flights booked, and travel, plans, arranged to go there, please postpone them. There’s very limited resources. It is an island," she said.
The island can use donations. The American Red Cross, the Maui Food Bank, and the Hawaii Community Foundation are some of the biggest reputable organizations doing the work on the ground.
Sternthall says even though Atlanta is about 4,000 miles away, the two locations have a lot in common.
"Atlanta has the same sense of aloha that Hawaii does," she said
Maui fires: Fire crews continue to battle blazes
Fire crews in Hawaii are still trying to contain at least four active wildfires still burning on the island, while anxious residents remain in shelters. At least 55 people have lost their lives, but the death toll is expected to rise as search for survivors continues.
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The wildfires are the state’s deadliest natural disaster since a 1960 tsunami that killed 61 people. An even deadlier tsunami in 1946, which killed more than 150 people on the Big Island, prompted the development of the territory-wide emergency system that includes the sirens, which are sounded monthly to test their readiness.
The Associated Press contributed to this report