lahaina yacht club fire today

Update from the LYC Board of Governors

LAHAINA YACHT CLUB NEWS

Posted by LYC Board of Governors

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Dear Lahaina Yacht Club Members, Reciprocals and Club Ohana,

As you know, the tragic events of August 8 have destroyed Lahaina and our LYC Clubhouse along with over 2,200 structures in and around our Historic Front Street. Our immediate focus has been to establish contact with the Board of Governors, Board of Trustees, Staff and all of our LYC Ohana directly affected by the fires on Maui.

We have contacted each Board Member and Employee and all are accounted for and safe. We will continue to reach out to all Maui resident members and keep everyone updated as soon as possible. If you have any contact with members who reside on Maui we would like to hear from you. Communication on the West Side of Maui continues to be difficult.

To all that have been affected by the fire, our hearts are with you. And words are not enough to show appreciation for the efforts of all first responders and volunteers. Mahalo!!!

We have received so many encouraging messages and are so appreciative. The kind words and shared memories continue to help us during this difficult time. Mahalo for your patience as we work to respond to all messages and questions. We continue to focus on our Ohana here on Maui and can now reach out to our extended family of members around the world. The BoG, along with the BoT, has been working diligently to establish a plan to move forward. This includes a communication structure, plan of action and framework to continue the legacy of the Lahaina Yacht Club.

Maui will need your help for a long time to come. There are many ways to donate and any and all are appreciated. We are collecting donations at lyc.us if you would like to donate directly to the Club. The funds collected will be used to support our LYC Staff and to allow continued operation of the infrastructure that is left of the Lahaina Yacht Club. We will continue to maintain the mooring field in support of the community, maintain our communication structure (check our website for updates and upcoming LYC logo merch details) and allow us to consider rebuilding plans.

Part of our rebuilding will be to curate any documents, images and memories. Much of our archival information was lost to the fire. If you would like to share your LYC pictures, please send them to [email protected]. We will be setting up a Dropbox as a repository for this information.

Labor Day has been one of our most important weekends of the year with the annual Lahaina Return race to Oahu. This year, in support of Lahaina, the HYRA has announced 3 days of events dubbed Lahaina’s Return. They have invited the membership of LYC to come to Oahu for 3 days of races, parties and events. The proceeds of all will go towards supporting the Lahaina Fire Recovery. Information can be found https://www.hyra.us/

Our deepest condolences are sent to those who have lost someone to the fire. The Lahaina Yacht Club Board of Governors will continue to keep the legacy of the LYC strong. Your involvement is key to these efforts.

LYC Board of Governors

LAHAINA YACHT CLUB | 808-661-0191

Maui fires: 6 dead, at least 271 structures impacted as Hawaii battles blazes

Coverage on this live blog has ended. Please follow our latest updates here.

What to know about the wildfires:

• At least six people have died in fires in Maui, officials said Wednesday. Some injuries have been reported, but officials did not provide a number.
• Crews continue to battle fires in Maui and the Big Island, which have been fanned in part by strong winds from Hurricane Dora, a Category 4 storm.
• The Coast Guard on Tuesday rescued 14 people including two children, who went into the ocean to escape the blazes and smoke.

At least 271 structures have been damaged, destroyed or otherwise impacted in the western Maui town of Lahaina after a devastating wildfire, Maui County officials said.

• The full extent of the damage may not be known for weeks or even months, acting Gov. Sylvia Luke said.
• Lahaina, once the capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom, is destroyed in the fires.

Satellite images capture devastation in Lahaina from wildfires

Tim Stelloh

Phil Helsel

Satellite images captured the devastation on Maui Wednesday after a wildfire tore through Lahaina, a popular vacation destination on the island’s west coast that was once the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii .

In one image from the company Maxar Technologies, the historic area of Banyan Court — home to the island’s oldest living banyan tree, at 150 years old — appears to have mostly been reduced to ash.

Other images showed similar devastation in and around Lahaina Square, a shopping area, and a neighborhood on the southern end of the town.

Read the full story here.

Visitors asked to leave Maui as soon as possible due to crisis

Visitors “with vehicles or any means of transportation” are being asked to leave the fire-ravaged Lahaina area and Maui as soon as possible, county officials said today .

The county made the request because officials have limited resources in what it described as a crisis.

Buses will be taking people from Sheraton Maui Resort in Kaʻanapali to Kahului Airport, the county said.

Widespread damage has been seen in Lahaina in western Maui from one of three wildfires. At least six people are dead, and western Maui does not have power or cell service.

Firefighters battling spot fires around Lahaina, no new evacuations

More than 100 Maui firefighters were battling three wildfires today, and helicopters have been making water drops and conducting searches, Maui County said .

No new evacuations were ordered in Maui, which has faced severe wind-fueled wildfires, but the damage in the western Maui town of Lahaina was called widespread.

There are three fires on Maui — the Lahaina, Pūlehu and Upcountry fires. The National Guard and other military units are assisting with helicopters doing water drops, officials said.

Firefighters in Lahaina were putting out spot fires around the community of around 12,700, the county said in a statement.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell also tweeted that she has spoken with the state’s lieutenant governor, and that the agency has authorized federal assistance to help firefighting efforts.

‘Everyone I know in Lahaina, their homes have been burned down’

Residents who have fled their homes in advance of devastating wildfires have shared their heartbreak and uncertainty with NBC affiliate KHNL of Honolulu .

“Everyone I know in Lahaina, their homes have been burned down,” Tiare Lawrence, of the community on the western edge of Maui, told the station. She said she was trying to make sure everyone in her family is safe.

Holly Zackious, of Kula, found her home was intact but told the station that others in the neighborhood were burned to the ground.

“It’s awful the amount of damage that this fire wreaked havoc,” she said. “We’re praying for Lahaina.”

Gabe Johnson, Maui County council member for the island of Lāna’i, told KHNL that those who have not been affected are coming to help others.

“We rebuild. You know, Lahaina strong,” Johnson told the station. “It’s not just an expression.”

At least 271 structures damaged or destroyed in Maui fires

Andrew Blankstein

The state’s lieutenant governor said earlier today that it could be weeks or months before the full damage of the fires on Maui is known.

Fires continue to burn both on Maui and the island of Hawaii and high-speed and erratic winds continue to make it difficult to fly aircraft to get a better sense of the totality of the damage, a Hawaii Emergency Management Agency official said.

"Widespread damage to the West Maui town, the harbor and surrounding areas are being documented," the county said in a statement.

Wildfire decimates Lahaina, once the capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom

Sakshi Venkatraman

A historic seaside town that once was the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii has been largely reduced to ash as wildfires continued to rip through the state Wednesday. 

Hawaiians say Lahaina’s disaster leaves them mourning the loss of a place dense with Native Hawaiian history and culture — and they’re bracing for what the tragedy will mean for their communities in the long term. 

“People are worried about their loved ones, their homes, their businesses, their jobs,” said David Aiona Chang, who is Native Hawaiian and a professor of history at the University of Minnesota. “So many of the disasters that hit Hawaii hit Native Hawaiians the hardest. It’s something that we are going to be dealing with for a long time.”

Satellite imagery shows Maui fires

Aerial video shows devastation in maui.

Helicopter video from Air Maui Helicopter Tours in Lahaina shows the devastation in the community of around 12,700 on the western coast of Maui, after wildfires.

Two patients in Maui fires in critical condition, hospital says

Two of five people being cared for at Maui Memorial Medical Center following wildfires on the island were in critical condition, Maui Health said today.

The hospital is treating five people in all, and seven others have been sent to Oahu for specialty services, some of whom suffered fire-related injuries, Maui Health, a nonprofit hospital organization, said.

Two new brushfires on Hawaii's Big Island

Two new brushfires started today on the island of Hawaii, also known as the Big Island, where fires have also been burning, officials said.

Hawaii County Mayor Mitch Roth has said the focus should be on Maui, where devastating wildfires have occurred, causing at least six deaths.

The new fires were in the Kaʻū region, and one of those was under control, the Hawaii Fire Department said .

The Akoni Pule Highway brushfire is about 60% contained but is threatening structures, according to the Fire Department, and there are fires in the Mauna Kea Beach area. People at the Mauna Kea Resort have been told to shelter in place.

Roth in a video briefing earlier today thanked assistance from state agencies and the National Guard in dealing with brushfires on the island.

Full damage may not be known for weeks or months

It’s expected to take weeks before officials know the full scale of the damage to Maui in the wake of wildfires, Hawaii’s lieutenant governor said today.

“This is not going to be a short journey. It’s going to take weeks and maybe months to assess the full damage,” Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, who is acting governor until the governor returns early from a trip, said.

She said the state will provide whatever assistance possible, and federal aid was also sent or being sent to help in the wildfires and the aftermath.

“We will rebuild,” Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen said at a news briefing.

Two UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters with water buckets, as well as three CH-47 Chinook with 2,000 gallon water buckets, have been or were being sent to Maui today to help, said Maj. Gen. Kenneth S. Hara, adjutant general for the state.

Also sent with one of the Chinooks is an “enhanced emergency response force package,” which involves a specialized team capable of confined space search and rescue, he said.

Maui has seen winds of over 50 mph

High winds from passing Hurricane Dora may have helped fuel wildfires in Maui, and today the National Weather Service said gusts on the island have reached as high as 67 mph.

In the 48 hour period between 10 a.m. Honolulu time Monday and Wednesday morning, the highest recorded gusts were between 45 and 67 mph, according to the weather service .

Forecasters had warned of fire risk due to high winds starting Monday, and a “red flag” warning about fires had also been issued.

Biden orders ‘all available federal assets’ to help

President Joe Biden and the first lady today expressed their condolences to the people of Maui, and Biden pledged assistance from federal assets.

“Jill and I send our deepest condolences to the families of those who lost loved ones in the wildfires in Maui, and our prayers are with those who have seen their homes, businesses, and communities destroyed,” Biden said in a statement . “We are grateful to the brave firefighters and first responders who continue to run toward danger, putting themselves in harm’s way to save lives.”

Biden said he has “ordered all available Federal assets on the Islands to help with response.” The Hawaii National Guard, U.S. Coast Guard and the Navy’s Third Fleet is assisting, he said.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said that the state will be submitting a request for a presidential disaster declaration once officials know the scope of the devastation. Such declarations allow increased federal aid.

Urgent care clinics in Lahaina can’t treat patients, say their structures are either damaged or destroyed

Aria Bendix

Cliff Alakai, an administrator at Maui Medical Group, said he learned on Facebook that the group's Lahaina urgent care facility was damaged.

"One of our IT people found a picture and put a circle around our clinic. It’s a two-story clinic. It looks like the second floor is heavily damaged," Alakai said.

Alakai said Maui Medical Group operates four additional outpatient clinics outside Lahaina that are open to patients, but many Lahaina residents are hesitant to leave the area because road closures would prevent them from returning home, he said. Employees who live in Lahaina have called out of work, but so far appear to be safe, he added.

“Our employees who live out there are calling to say, ‘Yeah, we’re all right. Our house burned down, but we’re fine. We got out in time,’” Alakai said.

Justin Prouty, owner of Minit Medical Urgent Care, said he assumes his Lahaina facility is no longer standing.

"All reports coming out of Lahaina are super sketchy right now. There’s just no news there, no cell service so nobody can get any information. It sounds like a couple of our employees have lost their homes," Prouty said. "I’ve had reports that places around our clinic are burned to the ground, so my guess is our clinic is too."

Avoid nonessential travel to Maui, officials urge

Doha Madani

With wildfires raging, Hawaii officials urged both residents and tourists to avoid all nonessential travel to Maui.

There were at least 2,000 people at the airport overnight either attempting to leave or waiting for new flights to come in, according to Hawaii Department of Transportation Director Ed Sniffen.

"We made sure that we process them through this morning. We were working with our airline partners on all of that," Sniffen said. "There's another 4,000 visitors that we're expecting who want to leave the island from the west side."

Sniffen also noted that traffic on the highways will be congested as people are evacuated and certain areas of the island remain inaccessible.

Acting Gov. Luke also discouraged tourism to Maui as authorities struggle to contain the wildfires.

"This is not a safe place to be in certain parts of Maui," Luke said. "We have shelters that are overrun. We have resources that are being taxed."

Nigel Chiwaya

Helicopters able to take off for water drops as winds reduce

The Kula Fire has not been contained on Maui, but officials are hopeful that the situation will improve now that firefighters can deploy water overhead.

"I think a big thing that was hampering us yesterday is because of the high winds, we were not able to get helicopters in the air," Mayor Richard T. Bissen Jr. said. "It was not safe for them to do water drops. Apparently as of this morning that situation has improved."

Almost 100 firefighters have been working in shifts, including 11 who work for the state airport firefighting and rescue teams. Maui first responders were also offered assets from other local and federal partners.

The military has provided Black Hawk helicopters and a Chinook helicopter in addition to aircraft from the Hawaii National Guard, according to Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara, speaking on behalf of the Department of Defense.

'Focus right now is to save lives and preserve lives'

Maui officials say that it's "impossible" at this point to quantify the structural damage from the deadly fires.

"Our main focus right now is to save lives and preserve lives," Mayor Richard T. Bissen Jr. said.

FEMA will assist with property assessments, Luke said.

6 deaths confirmed in Maui, mayor says

At least six people have died in the wildfires, and search-and-rescue efforts continue, Mayor Richard T. Bissen Jr. said.

Bissen said he's unsure of how that number might change as authorities continue to battle the flames.

"There were a lot of people putting things out on social media; we have not had a chance to yet to confirm any of that," he said. "We are still in that phase of gathering information."

More than 2,100 people have been housed in shelters.

Hawaii County Mayor Mitch Roth said no fatalities had been confirmed in his county.

Burn patients flown to Honolulu

Several burn patients from Maui were being treated at Straub Medical Center, the hospital said in a statement. The facility has the only specialized burn unit in Hawaii.

The Honolulu Emergency Services Department transported one woman in her 60s from Maui to the burn center, agency spokesperson Shayne Enright said. The woman was in critical condition.

The department has also received reports of multiple patients being flown from Maui to Honolulu, she said.

Maui issues water conservation advisory

Alicia Victoria Lozano

Maui's water department is asking consumers across the island to conserve water to reduce demand and extend existing supplies.

 "The Department of Water Supply urges all residents and visitors to please be mindful of their water use and especially reduce outdoor water use," it said in a statement. "The Water Department is working diligently to ensure our resources are used as efficiently as possible and we need the community to do their part."

Customers are asked to not wash cars, sidewalks or driveways, or irrigate lawns until further notice.

Hawaii governor says he expects ‘some loss of life’ in wildfire catastrophe

Marlene Lenthang

Green said Wednesday he anticipates there will be casualties as a result of the wind-fueled wildfires scorching the islands.

“Heroic efforts by first responders have prevented many casualties from occurring, but some loss of life is expected,” he said in a statement. 

Green called the severe weather a “terrible disaster,” noting the wildfires have “spread widely” because of Dora's winds and the region already had underlying drought conditions. 

“Much of Lāhainā on Maui has been destroyed and hundreds of local families have been displaced,” he said. 

Green said he anticipates submitting a request for a presidential disaster declaration in the next 36 to 48 hours once the damage extent is assessed. 

He had been on personal travel until Aug. 15 but will return to the islands Wednesday night to respond to the crisis. 

Hawaii officials to hold news conference on wildfire

Hawaii state officials will host a briefing on the wildfires and the impact of Dora at 10 a.m. local time (4 p.m. ET) Wednesday. 

Luke, who is serving as acting governor because Green is traveling, will speak, along with the Hawaii County and Maui County mayors.

Emergency proclamation issued for Maui air travel

Luke issued an emergency proclamation Wednesday to extend the state of emergency to all counties and to discourage “non-essential air travel to Maui.”

The proclamation cited ongoing wildfires in Hawaii, fanned by Dora's winds.

“This is an unprecedented disaster as an indirect result of Hurricane Dora passing just south of our islands,” Luke said. “It is truly devastating and my heart goes out to the residents of Maui and all those impacted.”

The proclamation discouraging travel will allow the state to “prioritize our scarce resources for Maui residents who desperately need assistance," she said. 

Under the proclamation, visitors to West Maui are encouraged to depart the island as soon and as safely as possible. 

Wednesday's announcement follows Tuesday’s initial emergency proclamation authorizing the activation of the National Guard and authorizing state general revenue funds to be used for relief. 

It has already been a devastating year for extreme weather

Denise Chow

It may be days or weeks before the full extent of damage from the wildfires in Hawaii is known, but the blazes add to what has already been a devastating year of weather and climate disasters.

A report released Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found that there were more billion-dollar disasters in the first seven months of 2023 than in any year since 1980, when the agency began tracking these events .

Scientists at NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information said there have been 15 extreme weather events so far this year that each caused at least $1 billion in damage. These included severe storms, tornado outbreaks, hail, one flooding event and one winter storm.

NOAA said these climate and weather disasters caused 113 direct and indirect fatalities and resulted in more than $39.7 billion in damage from January through July.

Hawaiian Airlines offers refunds because of wildfires

Hawaiian Airlines tweeted early Wednesday that it will allow passengers to get refunds or change their travel dates because of ongoing wildfires. 

The airline cited the emergency order in Maui County and the fact that “non-essential travel is being strongly discouraged.”

“We have a travel waiver in place and will allow you to receive a refund or change travel to a future date without penalty," the airline said.

Kihei in Maui is ‘clear’ and residents can return, officials say

Kihei, a census-designated area, is “clear” and residents can return home, Maui County said in an update at 6 a.m. local time (12 p.m. ET). 

Officials also said residents on Ohukai Road can return home, adding the fire in that area is “not a threat.”

However, Lahaina officers were evacuating residents in Launiupoko Estates and Punakea Loop. 

2,000 sheltering at Kahului Airport

Travel in and out of Hawaii has been disrupted because of wildfires burning on several islands, prompting 2,000 travelers from canceled flights and arrivals to shelter at Kahului Airport in Maui County, the county said just before 5 a.m. local time Wednesday. 

So far Wednesday, there have been 27 delays at the airport and two cancellations, following 45 delays and six cancellations Tuesday, according to FlightAware.com . 

Almost 100 firefighters have been on duty, including 11 from state airport rescue personnel, the county said.

Maui County plagued by power outages

More than 14,000 power outages have been reported across Maui County, according to poweroutage.us , a site that collects and monitors live data from utilities across the United States.

Hawaiian Electric, the largest supplier of electricity in the state, said Tuesday that crews are working on extensive repairs to downed power lines in West Maui and Upcountry, and warned customers to be prepared for extended outages.

"With the sustained high wind weather, we are seeing additional impacts to our electrical infrastructure at the same time the crews are making repairs so we are asking customers to please prepare for possible extended outages into the night,” spokesperson Shayna Decker said in a statement Tuesday .

Fires in Hawaii unlike other U.S. wildfires

Associated Press

Fires in Hawaii are unlike many of  those burning in the U.S. West . They tend to break out in large grasslands on the dry sides of the islands and are generally much smaller than mainland fires.

Fires were rare in Hawaii  and on other tropical islands before humans arrived, and native ecosystems evolved without them. This means great environmental damage can occur when fires erupt. For example, fires remove vegetation. When a fire is followed by heavy rainfall, the rain can carry loose soil into the ocean, where it can smother coral reefs.

A  major fire in the Big Island in 2021  burned homes and forced thousands to evacuate.

The island of Oahu, where Honolulu is located, also was dealing with power outages, downed power lines and traffic problems, said Adam Weintraub, communication director for the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.

Hawaii under red flag warning

All the Hawaiian islands are under a red flag warning through 6 p.m. local time Wednesday. 

A red flag warning is an alert issued by the weather service when a combination of very low humidity, warm temperatures and strong winds are expected to combine to cause fires to spread rapidly. The warning serves as a signal to officials and fire managers to be on the lookout for potential wildfires in the area.

The warning is for leeward areas, meaning land that faces away from the wind usually sheltered by hills and mountains, due to strong winds and low humidity, the agency in Honolulu said in a morning advisory . 

“Very dry fuels combined with strong and gusty easterly winds and low humidities will produce critical fire weather conditions through the afternoon hours,” the advisory said. 

East winds of 20 to 35 mph with gusts from 40 to 50 mph are forecast, along with humidity levels at 40-45% through the afternoon.

“Any fires that develops will likely spread rapidly. Outdoor burning is not recommended,” the agency warned. 

Schools closed in Maui on Wednesday

Schools were shuttered Wednesday due to spreading brush fires and evacuations in Maui. 

Closures in West Maui: Princess Nahi‘ena‘ena Elementary, King Kamehameha III Elementary, Lahaina Intermediate, Lahainaluna High.

Closures in South Maui: Kihei Elementary, Lokelani Intermediate, Kamali‘i Elementary and Kūlanihāko‘i High.

In Upcountry Maui, King Kekaulike High was closed and in Central Maui, Maui High was being used as an evacuation shelter. 

Coast Guard rescues 12 Hawaii residents who fled into water

Twelve people were rescued overnight Tuesday by the Coast Guard after entering the ocean to escape blazes burning in West Maui, a Coast Guard spokesperson said.

All were in stable condition when recovered. 

“The Coast Guard has been responding to impacted areas where residents are entering the ocean due to smoke and fire conditions,” Maui County said in a  public notice . “Individuals were transported by the Coast Guard to safe areas.”

The U.S. Coast Guard tweeted that a dozen people were rescued near Lahaina by a 45-foot response boat from the Coast Guard’s Maui Station.

"The USCG continues the joint response with federal and state partners while the USCG Cutter Kimball is en route to Maui to enhance efforts," it said.

Wildfires continue to burn across Big Island and Maui on Wednesday.

Winds strengthened by hurricane helped fuel devastating fires

Strong winds driven by Dora, which has been churning over the central Pacific Ocean and moving west, helped whip up wildfires that spread quickly in Hawaii.

The weather service Tuesday warned that 45 mph winds and gusts up to 60 mph could create "high fire danger with rapid spread."

The winds strengthened by the hurricane exacerbated multiple fires in Maui and hampered efforts to put the blazes out, the Associated Press reported. Helicopter crews were unable to dump water on the fires to help contain the spread, and downed trees and power lines blocked some road access.

Dora was passing more than 500 miles south of Hawaii, and was not expected to make landfall on the island chain. The Category 4 storm is not thought to be directly responsible for the wildfires, but rather added to dry and windy conditions that heighten the risk of such blazes.

Hundreds evacuated, homes destroyed

In the Kula area of Maui, 80 people were evacuated from 40 homes, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said Tuesday .

He said at least two homes were destroyed in a fire that engulfed about 1,100 acres.

He noted that fierce winds were the biggest challenge in confronting the blazes, as the wind conditions are unsafe for helicopters to do water drops.

Big Island Mayor Mitch Roth said that about 400 homes in four communities in the northern part of the island were evacuated Tuesday. He said one roof had caught fire.

Where the blazes are

Two brush fires were burning Tuesday in the Big Island in North and South Kohala, Hawai’i County officials said. 

“A mandatory evacuation was called for in the Kohala Ranch area, and 2 residents have taken shelter at Hisaoka Gymnasium,” the county said in a public notice Tuesday.

Evacuation shelters were opened at Hisaoka Gym in Kapaʻau and the Waimea Community Center in Waimea, officials said.

Wildfires are also burning in Maui, with the biggest blaze believed to be in Lahaina .

An emergency proclamation was issued Tuesday by Lt. Gov Sylvia Luke, activating the Hawaii National Guard. 

Evacuations in Big Island and Maui

Evacuations are underway in Big Island and Maui amid wildfires that are raging across the area, fueled by winds associated with Dora . 

No fatalities reported in wildfire

Officials were not aware of any deaths and knew of only one injury, a firefighter who was in stable condition at a hospital after experiencing smoke inhalation, Maui County spokesperson Mahina Martin said in a phone interview early Wednesday.

There’s no count available for the number of structures affected by the fires or the number of people affected by evacuations, but she said there are four shelters open, with more than 1,000 people at the largest.

“This is so unprecedented,” she said, noting that multiple districts were affected. An emergency in the night is terrifying, she said, and the darkness makes it hard to gauge the extent of the damage.

Bus routes suspended because of fires

Several transportation services were disrupted Wednesday due to wildfires burning in Maui. 

The Lahaina Islander Route #20, Lahaina Villager Route #23, Kaanapali Islander Route #25, and West Maui Islander Route #28 were suspended until further notice, the county said in a public notice .

Maui Bus ADA Paratransit Service and MEO Human Service Transportation trips to and from and within West Maui were also suspended. 

“All Maui Bus Commuter Services will be suspended until further notice,” the county said.

911 service down in Maui’s west side

First responders faced a hurdle in grappling with wildfires burning in Maui as 911 service went down early Wednesday.

Maui County said on social media the service was unavailable in the island’s west side at 12 a.m. local time (6 a.m. ET).

Locals are urged to call the Lahaina Police Department directly in case of an emergency.

‘It was catastrophic’: Residents left devastated as wildfires wreak havoc on Maui

LAHAINA (HawaiiNewsNow) - As flames from a raging brush fire tore through a historic business district on Maui Tuesday, residents and others on social media described the “devastating” crisis unfolding.

A pilot from Air Maui Helicopters flew over Lahaina Wednesday morning and recalled seeing hundreds of homes burnt down.

Lahaina resident Tiare Lawrence compared the scene to an apocalypse, with people running for their lives.

“It’s just so hard. I’m currently Upcountry and just knowing I can’t get a hold of any of my family members. I still don’t know where my little brother is. I don’t know where my stepdad is,” she said.

“Everyone I know in Lahaina, their homes have been burned down.”

Lawrence’s cousin Dustin Kaleiopu added they had seen smoke near their house around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, and just a few hours later, the fires took everything.

“Our house was gone. Everything that we’d ever known was gone. Our church, our schools, every single memory we had on this household ... everything was gone in the blink of an eye,” Kaleiopu said.

Front Street business owner Alan Dickar captured video Tuesday afternoon, watching business after business going up in flames.

“That was this afternoon, around probably 4:30 in bright sunshine, blue skies, but you couldn’t tell from that video.”

He said there were no fire trucks at the point.

“I think the fire department was overwhelmed with other fires nearby,” he said. “And it’s amazing because this is the most important business street on Maui.”

Meanwhile, crews have been scrambling to rescue a number of people who fled into the ocean to escape the fast-moving flames.

Boat Captain Chrissy Lovitt was one of the people who fled into the ocean in an attempt to save her boat. “Every single boat in Lahaina Harbor burned up, it looks like something out of a movie, a war movie.”

“As the fire worked its way down to the engine room it exploded, the water was on fire from the fuel in the water,” said Lovitt.

About 10:50 p.m., the Coast Guard said it had rescued a dozen people from waters off Lahaina.

The full scope of the damage in Lahaina isn’t known, but videos on social media shows a wall of flames descending on Front Street in Lahaina and destroying a number of businesses. One terrifying video posted by fleeing residents shows uncontrolled flames on both sides of their vehicle.

People have described the scene as “chaotic” and “stressful.”

Resident Holly Zackious said her parents returned to their homes in Kula Wednesday after evacuating overnight, and while their home was still intact, neighboring homes were “burnt to the ground.”

“It’s awful the amount of damage that this fire wreaked havoc,” said Zackious. “We’re praying for Lahaina.”

Meanwhile, some groups are working to gather donations to help those impacted by the wildfires. They say donations can be dropped off to Hoomana Barbell in Wailuku starting at 9 a.m.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) regional administrator authorized the use of federal funds on Wednesday to assist the state in combatting the Lahaina fire.

This story will be updated.

Copyright 2023 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.

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'Burned down to ashes': Why devastated Lahaina Town is such a cherished place on Maui

After Maui's Lahaina Town was razed by fire Tuesday night , residents and visitors are mourning the loss of cultural and religious sites that trace their roots back centuries.

More than 250 structures were damaged or destroyed , according to Maui County, as entire blocks of Lahaina − once the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii − went up in smoke.

Lahaina Town has also long claimed home to the largest banyan tree in the U.S., which was scorched in the fires .

The fire spread and grew faster than anyone could have imagined. In a few hours, the wind-driven blaze tore through popular Front Street and decimated the town center, which traces its roots to the 1700s and was on the National Register of Historic Places.

“Lahaina Town is now burned down to ashes, the whole entire town − hotels, buildings, the historic sites,'' said Leomana Turalde. He told USA TODAY his mother, Jon Ho’okano, 56, worked for years as a dancer at Old Lahaina Luau, considered a "well-preserved epicenter of Hawaiian culture and storytelling," the venue says on its website .

Lahaina has a population of around 13,000, according to the 2020 U.S. Census .

How old is Lahaina Town?

More than 1,000 years ago, long before the U.S. was founded, people were living on the Hawaiian islands and leaving their mark . From the years 1,000-1,200, people from Polynesia traveled about 2,500 miles north and settled on the islands of Hawaii, the National Park Service says on its website .

Throughout history, different Hawaiian rulers vied for power over the islands, and Lahaina was consistently a site of royal and religious importance with its cemeteries and historic churches.

Waiola Church, which burned in the fire , was the site of the start of Christianity in Hawaii in the early 1800s, according to the church's website .

The church crumbled , but the loss will be temporary, Anela Rosa , the church's lay minister of 13 years told USA TODAY. She said the church will bring people together for the next service, even if they have to use pop-up tents.

"This church, this congregation, has a resiliency unlike any other," Rosa said. "That's why I know we will rebuild and be better than ever."

Before Hawaii became a U.S. territory in 1898, King Kamehameha I made Lahaina the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

Also in the 1800s, Hawaii's royal leaders built a brick palace in Lahaina, along with other royal residences, according to one of the town's tourism websites .

Lahaina Banyan Court Park is home to the famous banyan fig tree planted in 1873 after being imported from India. It was threatened by the fires and suffered damage to trunks and limbs but  remains standing , the Honolulu Civil Beat reported.

Fires destroy 'cultural heritage' in Lahaina

Locals say losing so much of Lahaina is painful because the culture the place represents connects to a time with revered roots.

For Francine Hollinger, a 66-year-old Native Hawaiian, losing Lahaina was "like losing a family member."

“Because they’ll never be able to rebuild it, like we wouldn’t be able to bring back our mother or father,” she said.

While it’s still difficult to assess the damage, state Sen. Gilbert Keith-Agaran told USA TODAY various landmarks have reportedly been lost – historic businesses and cemeteries where royal figures were buried. 

“It’s a real loss. Hawaii and Maui have tried really hard to preserve and protect those places for many, many years … not for the sake of tourism but because it’s part of our cultural heritage,” said Keith-Agaran, whose district includes Kahului in central Maui.

“We just lost a large part of our heritage,” he said.

In addition to being a historic area, Lahaina Town is a residential and tourist area with a commercial district. For decades, it has been considered the west side of Maui's main downtown area.

The area is also known for two longtime beach resorts, Kaanapali and Kapalua. Lahaina Harbor attracts tourists with water sports, fishing and boat rides.

Contributing: Terry Collins, Alia Wong, N'dea Yancey-Bragg, Jorge L. Ortiz, Kathleen Wong, Ashley Lewis, Itzel Luna, USA TODAY ; Associated Press

‘A scar on the face of Maui’: Lahaina is gutted; fatalities expected to multiply

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At least 53 people have died, dozens have been injured and hundreds of structures have been destroyed as fires have torn through Maui this week, forcing thousands to flee their homes and reducing much of the historic town of Lahaina to ash.

“What we saw was likely the largest natural disaster in Hawaii state history,” Gov. Josh Green said in a public briefing Thursday.

Green issued a fourth emergency proclamation Thursday night to expedite aid to the western Maui communities devastated by the fires. The Lahaina wildfire raced with such speed that some of those fleeing jumped into the ocean to escape the flames and later were rescued by the Coast Guard.

Maui County officials said Thursday afternoon that at least 53 had died in the Lahaina fire, and the death toll was expected to increase in the coming days. One Lahaina resident, Tiffany Kidder Winn, saw a row of burned-out vehicles in the road, some of which contained charred bodies.

“It looked like they were trying to get out but were stuck in traffic and couldn’t get off Front Street,” she told the Associated Press, referring to the seafront roadway that was the site of multiple retail shops and restaurants.

An estimated 1,700 structures were damaged or destroyed by wildfire, including many small businesses, a church and a school, according to Gov. Green.

“Right now, we have a scar on the face of Maui that will be here for a very long time,” said Maui Police Chief John Pelletier. “Scars heal in time, but they always remain.”

Green said Thursday he expected the cost of the recovery to be in the “billions of dollars.” Accuweather had a preliminary estimate of damage and economic loss at $8 billion to $10 billion.

Three blazes — the Lahaina, Pulehu and Upcountry fires — remained active Thursday, officials said . None of the fires had been fully contained by 3 p.m. Hawaiian time Thursday, according to Maui Fire Chief Bradford Ventura.Officials said they were still battling flare-ups and that two C-47 National Guard helicopters were standing by for deployment.

“This is a deeply somber day,” Maui Mayor Richard Bissen Jr. said. “The gravity of losing any life is tragic. As we grieve with their families, we offer prayers for comfort in this inconsolable time.”

President Biden on Thursday declared “a major disaster” in the island state, opening the door to federal funding and state and local recovery efforts . Residents affected by the fires can apply for “grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses” and other federal programs for business owners and residents, the White House said in a statement. The declaration also makes federal funding available to state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations.

World & Nation

‘Gone forever’: Fire devastates historic Lahaina, former capital of the Hawaiian kingdom

The wildfire that ripped through Maui devastated Lahaina, a town boasting centuries of history and that was once the capital of the Hawaiian kingdom.

Aug. 10, 2023

At least 11,000 travelers were evacuated from Maui, officials said. The fires overpowered and closed many roads, which became congested and stranded hundreds of people as they raced to the island’s only major airport, Kahului. About 1,400 people stayed overnight at the airport, and many more were expected to arrive Thursday. Airlines have said they are adding more flights, reducing ticket prices and deploying bigger planes to aid evacuation efforts.

As winds diminished Wednesday, some aircraft resumed flights, enabling pilots to view the full scope of the devastation. Flyovers of the coastal town of Lahaina by U.S. Civil Air Patrol and the Maui Fire Department showed the extent of the loss, said Mahina Martin, a spokesperson for Maui County.

Aerial video showed dozens of homes and businesses flattened, including on Front Street, where tourists once gathered to shop and dine. Smoking heaps of rubble lay piled high next to the waterfront, boats in the harbor were scorched, and gray smoke hovered over the leafless skeletons of charred trees.

Rebuilding the local economy could take years, Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke said, adding that the blazes remade the landscape, from destroying homes and businesses to taking down infrastructure and broadband capabilities. “It will be a long road to recovery,” she said.

An estimated 2,000 people have stayed in at least six shelters that have opened for evacuees, according to reports. The Red Cross said that some residents sought shelter overnight while others had visited during the day, seeking resources. State officials said the decision on when to allow residents to return to their homes would be made by Maui County officials and Mayor Bissen.

Although the rest of the state remains open, officials have asked visitors — a huge economic force — to leave Maui and urged others making nonessential trips to stay away from the island.

The airport was overrun with people trying to catch flights Thursday. Many major airlines do not offer short-distance flights between the Hawaiian islands, but carriers with major business on the island said they were doing what they could to respond to evacuation efforts and get passengers to the mainland.

The two largest airlines operating in Hawaii — Hawaiian Airlines and Southwest — have reduced fares to just $19 for flights leaving from Kahului to Honolulu International Airport on Oahu, where the Red Cross had opened shelters for evacuees.

Alaska Airlines said it would continue to operate its eight daily scheduled departures from Maui and also added a “rescue flight” Thursday to ferry more people off the island.

American Airlines said it was also adding flights out of Maui and upgrading planes to provide more seats.

United canceled flights to Kahului on Thursday so that planes could fly empty to Maui to return passengers to the mainland more readily.

Fires, floods, heatwaves. Is the extreme weather from coast to coast ‘a new abnormal’?

Floods, fires, extreme heat, awful air quality, warming seas: As extreme weather engulfs the nation, the United States resembles a disaster movie set.

July 12, 2023

West Maui remained without cell or landline phone service or electricity, the county said. Officials were working to restore power to some 10,000 homes that remained without electricity Thursday.

The exact cause of the blaze couldn’t be determined, but a number of factors including high winds, low humidity and dry vegetation likely contributed, said Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara, adjutant general for the Hawaii State Department of Defense. The weather service had issued a red flag warning — which indicates warm temperatures, very low humidity and stronger winds are expected to combine to produce an increased risk of fire danger — but Hara said wind strength far exceeded the predictions, which were expected to be around 50 to 55 mph but shot up to 85 mph.

Experts also said climate change is increasing the likelihood of more extreme weather.

An update from the National Drought Monitor early Thursday showed drought levels increased across the state from 6% to 14% in the last week. Maui County in particular saw an increase in severe drought conditions, from about 6% last week to 16% this week.

Clay Trauernicht, a fire scientist at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, said in a tweet that while a nearby hurricane played a role, the problem lies largely with widespread “unmanaged, nonnative grasslands” from “decades of declining agriculture.”

“The transformation to savanna makes the landscape way more sensitive to bad ‘fire weather’ — hot, dry, windy conditions,” Trauernicht said. “It also means we get huge buildups of fuels during rainy periods.”

Hara said he was “personally surprised by the amount of fires.” At least three blazes burned across Maui: in Lahaina, south Maui’s Kihei area and the mountainous and inland communities known as Upcountry.

Firefighters dropped 150,000 gallons of water Wednesday, but high winds obstructed their efforts.

In the upcountry Kula area, at least two homes were destroyed Tuesday in a fire that engulfed about 1.7 square miles, Bissen said.

There have been no reports of injuries or homes lost to three wildfires burning on Hawaii’s Big Island, Mayor Mitch Roth said Wednesday. Firefighters did extinguish a few roof fires.

The National Weather Service said Hurricane Dora, which was passing to the south of the island chain at a safe distance of 500 miles, was partly to blame for gusts above 60 mph that knocked out power, rattled homes and grounded firefighting helicopters.

Luke activated the Hawaii National Guard to assist. Biden said the Coast Guard and Navy were supporting the response and rescue efforts, while the Marines were providing Black Hawk helicopters to fight the fires.

“Local people have lost everything,” said James Tokioka, director of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. “They’ve lost their house, they’ve lost their animals.”

Former President Obama, who was born in Hawaii, said on social media Wednesday evening that it was tough to see some of the images coming out of a place that is so special to many.

“Michelle and I are thinking of everyone who has lost a loved one, or whose life has been turned upside down,” he said.

Ke’eaumoku Kapu, the owner of the Na Aikane o Maui cultural center in Lahaina, said he and his wife didn’t have time to pack up anything before being forced to flee. “We had years and years of research material, artifacts,” he said.

Record heat. Raging fires. What are the solutions?

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Alan Dickar said he wasn’t sure what remained of his Vintage European Posters gallery, which was a fixture on Front Street in Lahaina for 23 years. Before evacuating with three friends and two cats, Dickar recorded video of flames engulfing the main strip of shops and restaurants frequented by tourists.

“Every significant thing I owned burned down today,” he said.

Anger builds after controlled burn badly damages California sequoias

A controlled burn in Calaveras Big Trees State Park has badly damaged a pair of giant sequoias named ‘the Orphans,’ outraging community members.

Lahaina is often thought of as just a Maui tourist town, said Tiare Lawrence, who lives nearby and had relatives evacuate to her home, but “we have a very strong Hawaiian community.”

“I’m just heartbroken,” she said. “Everyone’s lives have tragically changed in the last 12 hours.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Alexandra E. Petri is a former Los Angeles Times staff writer who covered trends and breaking news. She previously covered live news at the New York Times. A two-time reporting fellow with the International Women’s Media Foundation, she graduated from Penn State with a degree in journalism and international studies.

Jack Herrera is a national correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, based out of Austin, Texas.

Jaweed Kaleem is an education reporter at the Los Angeles Times, where he covers news and features on K-12 and higher education. He specializes in reporting on campus activism and culture, including issues on free speech, religion, race and politics. Kaleem previously worked for The Times as a Los Angeles-based national correspondent and a London-based foreign correspondent.

Summer Lin is a reporter on the Fast Break Desk, the Los Angeles Times’ breaking news team. Before coming to The Times, she covered breaking news for the Mercury News and national politics and California courts for McClatchy’s publications, including the Miami Herald. An East Coast native, Lin moved to California after graduating from Boston College and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Lin was among The Times’ staff members who covered the Monterey Park mass shooting in 2023, which was recognized by the Pulitzer Board as a finalist in breaking news.

Jeremy Childs is the former night reporter on the Fast Break Desk, the Los Angeles Times’ breaking news team. Before joining the newsroom in 2023, he worked at the Ventura County Star, where he covered breaking news and most recently served as the newspaper’s East Ventura County reporter. Childs grew up in Newbury Park and graduated from Occidental College with a degree in English and comparative literary studies.

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Lāhainā boat captain navigates loss and recovery after fire depletes family business

Lāhainā residents are taking stock of what’s been lost, as firefighters continue to assess the damage caused by the wildfires in west Maui.

Lāhainā boat captain Keao Shaw lives just two minutes south of Lāhainā Harbor. He didn’t think much about leaving his home Tuesday to help neighbors clear fallen trees.

"By the time I came back, I couldnʻt even get back to the house. My family and kids were with me and we had just the shirts on our back. And the houses are gone. Everything is leveled. Some of the boats that we had are at the bottom of the harbor now," Shaw said.

Shaw and his wife, ‘Iwa, run a small charter boat business out of Lāhainā called Makai Adventures and a tour company Kainani Sails.

They lost one of their two boats in the fire, but it’s their 10 employees and their well-being that is top of mind for the Shaws.

"They’re also my really good friends. And some of them are with child. It’s really hard to see what they’re going through," Shaw said.

"A lot of people lost their homes, a lot of people lost their jobs. And it’s like how do you even stay? I would love to keep them here," he added.

The Shaws have raised more than $21,000 so far online for their employees .

Meanwhile, the couple’s children, 5-year-old Nāhiku and 3-year-old ʻOlina, were forced to relocate to ʻIwa’s hometown on Oʻahu’s North Shore because both of their schools were lost in the fire.

"One of my biggest questions is four years ago we had a similar hurricane scare and it was the same scenario. The fire started up in the mountains and they were raging toward Lāhainā and all of Lāhainā had to be evacuated. I’m curious as to what started the fire and how we could have prevented it," Shaw said.

It is still unclear exactly what triggered the wildfires in Lāhainā. For now, Shaw will remain in nearby Honokohau Valley, while his wife and children start school on Oʻahu.

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Lahaina male apprehended for murder in the second degree Saturday

The Maui News

KAHULUI–A 46-year-old Lahaina male is in police custody for murder in the second-degree after a 53-year-old man was found unresponsive after suffering from a severe injury to his arm Saturday morning in Kaanapali, according to the Maui Police Department (MPD).

The MPD stated an eyewitness described observing a 46-year-old Lahaina male standing over the victim’s body before fleeing the scene in a red 2007 Honda Element.

At approximately 1:08 p.m., officers located the Honda, abandoned off Honoapiilani Highway in the Olowalu area.

On Saturday, July 20, at approximately 11:46 a.m., Lahaina patrol officers initially responded to the area of 2010 Honoapiilani Highway in Kaanapali in regards to a suspicious type case.

Upon arrival, a bystander led MPD officers to a male who was observed to be breathing but was unresponsive and suffering from a severe injury to his arm, according to the MPD.

“A tourniquet was applied to the male’s arm by a responding officer, who then began life-saving measures until fire and medic personnel arrived on the scene to take over. The male, a 53-year-old from Lahaina, was transported to the Maui Memorial Medical Center in critical condition; however, he succumbed to his injuries before arrival. (The victim’s identity is being withheld for 24 hours to allow his family an opportunity to notify their extended family and friends),” the MPD press release on the incident reads.

At approximately 4:03 p.m., SRT and Lahaina Patrol personnel located the suspected 46-year-old male at Honokawai Park, where he was subsequently placed under arrest for Murder in the Second Degree.

The man remains in police custody, pending charges.

The investigation into the case is ongoing and information will be updated as it becomes available.

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Investigation underway following a boat fire at Pleasant Yacht Club

SPARROWS POINT — Baltimore County firefighters are investigating the cause of fire in Sparrows Point that destroyed two boats on Sunday.

Authorities say the blaze happened at the Pleasant Yacht Club in the 1800 block of Wharf Road. Crews at the scene managed to extinguish.

Two firefighters were taken to an area hospital for heat exhaustion. There were no other reported injuries.

Pleasant Yacht Club inc. early fire destroys 2 boats BCoFD with Middle River Vol Fire company other units extinguish boat fire at the moment no injuries reported @WMAR2News pic.twitter.com/2hwiLnpOQo — manny locke (@realmannynation) July 21, 2024

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Stonington yacht club fire injures one, threatens Amtrak power lines

Stonington ― Fast acting borough firefighters prevented a maintenance shed fire Monday afternoon from damaging overheard power lines that serve not only Eversource customers but the adjacent Amtrak rail line.

About 1:30 p.m., police received calls of fire in a shed at the Wadawanuck Club at 196 Water St.

Stonington Borough Fire Chief Jeff Hoadley said he arrived first and found heavy fire coming from the shed, which is directly under the power lines. Hoadley said he was immediately concerned the fire would damage and take down the overhead wires that carry 13,000 volts of electricity for Eversource and 26,000 volts that serve Amtrak. If the that occurred, service between Boston and New York would be interrupted.

Hoadley said the next firefighter to arrive, volunteer Hunter Wilcox, began protecting the wires by extinguishing the fire below. Hoadley said firefighters were able to get the blaze under control in about 15 minutes after putting 750 gallons of water on the fire. The shed and its contents were destroyed.

A maintenance worker who was in the shed suffered burns and was taken by Mystic River Ambulance to Lawrence + Memorial Hospital. The extent of his injuries was not immediately known.

Hoadley said the cause of the fire is under investigation.

Also responding to the fire were the Pawcatuck and Wequetequock fire departments, Stonington Ambulance, Stonington police, L+M Hospital paramedics and the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The DEEP responded as the shed is located less than 200 feet from Stonington Harbor.

Editor’s note: This story corrects the amount of water used to extinguish the fire.

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After the fire: St. Andrews Bay Yacht Club focused on revitalizing this coming summer

P ANAMA CITY — In November, the St. Andrews Bay Yacht Club building on Bunkers Cove Road was destroyed in a fire. Ever since then, questions have circulated around the community: How did the fire start? Would the Yacht Club rebuild?

The Yacht Club was up and operational for business within weeks of the fire. The Yacht Club is still taking in new members, as well. Members have joined the club even after the fire.

”The Yacht Club is in better shape than people would have imagined,” said Michael Wynn, 2024 commodore. “The staff members that we have are family to us. We believe and give to them and they give back to us.”

Wynn explained that one club member had this to say after the fire: “The clubhouse was just a building; the Yacht Club is about the people.”

The Yacht Club has discussed expanding its sailing center to provide greater resources for the community. The club expects the plans and renderings for the new club facility will be unveiled this summer.

Some of the staff members have left the club since the incident and others have stayed.

“Our staff is smaller now since the fire,” said Wynn. “We have less services being offered at the moment, but many staffers who left the club for other jobs have offered to come back once the club becomes (fully) operational again.”

The cause of the fire is still unknown. There have been different ideas and theories on how the fire started, but there has not been a definitive answer. But there was no foul play, Wynn emphasized.

”Right now, we don’t have a final number on what it’s going to cost to rebuild,” said Wynn. “We have architects and plans on rebuilding. We have members of the community who are donating services to help cut the cost (of our rebuild).”

More information about the club will be released closer to the clubhouse reopening. Wynn said the rebuild will both honor the club's history and heritage and also add modern touches.

Previous coverage: More details released as Panama City monitors St. Andrews Bay Yacht Club fire site

Wynn said the club's experience dealing with insurance after the fire has been good and the matter soon will be resolved. The experience was much better than the ones many people had after Hurricane Michael, he noted.

Wynn also is humbled and gratified by the outpouring of support and dedication from his fellow club leaders and all club members. He knew his one-year term as commodore, which began in January, would be full of challenges. But the club has rallied because the tradition and legacy mean so much.

"People care so deeply," he said.

News Herald Editor Jim Ross contributed to this report

[email protected]

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: After the fire: St. Andrews Bay Yacht Club focused on revitalizing this coming summer

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Music and Concerts | The Black Crowes cancel Friday night…

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Music and concerts, music and concerts | the black crowes cancel friday night performance at minnesota yacht club festival, organizers say there is an ‘illness in the band’.

Organizers of the two-day festival held on St. Paul’s Harriet Island Regional Park announced the news on social media : “Due to illness in the band, The Black Crowes will not be appearing at Minnesota Yacht Club this weekend. The band apologizes to their fans for any inconvenience.”

The post did not share any details on possible refunds, but the festival’s website contains this line on its ticket and wristband policy page: “All sales are FINAL — no refunds and no exchanges.”

RELATED: What to know if you’re headed to the Minnesota Yacht Club Festival

The festival did not add a replacement act, but reworked Friday’s schedule and gave several acts more time on stage.

The revised lineup includes: Gully Boys (1-2 p.m.), Harbor and Home (2-2:40 p.m.), Morgan Wade (2:40-3:40), Michigander (3:40-4:40), Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (4:40-5:40), Durry (5:40-6:40), Gwen Stefani (6:45-8), The Head and the Heart (8-9) and Alanis Morissette (9-10:30).

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Music and Concerts | Metallica fans can go bowling, throw axes and more on the day between the band’s Minneapolis shows

Music and Concerts | Concert review: Earth, Wind and Fire upstages Chicago at the X

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A Number Of Investigations Have Been Launched Into The Maui Fires. Here’s Where They’re At

A long-awaited official cause for the Lahaina fire is being left to Maui County to determine, with help from the federal ATF.

Investigations into the causes of the Maui wildfires are entering a new phase, as government officials prepare to release reports in April and lawyers for fire victims accelerate their own inquiries previously stalled in the face of procedural maneuvers by defendants.

Lawmakers, meanwhile, are calling on state utility regulators to launch a separate independent inquiry, which is required by state law. A hearing on the Senate concurrent resolution is scheduled for Friday.

The Hawaii Attorney General’s Office this week said it will release a much-anticipated first phase of a three-part investigation on April 17. That report, which was due months ago under the state’s contract with fire investigators, will not speak to the cause of the fire but instead is expected to include a detailed timeline of the fire’s spread through Lahaina on Aug. 8.

Meanwhile, officials with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting Maui County with its investigation of the origin and cause of the fire, said Jason Chudy, an ATF spokesman in Seattle. The report by the Maui County Department of Fire and Public Safety could be released as early as late April, said Chris Stankis, the department’s public information officer.

But the reports from the state and county — which are also defendants in lawsuits brought by fire victims — aren’t the only investigations into what happened the day of the nation’s deadliest wildfire in more than a century. The fires killed at least 101 people and destroyed nearly 2,000 structures, displacing thousands of people.

Fire victims have filed more than 70 lawsuits against defendants including the State of Hawaii, Maui County, Spectrum, Hawaiian Telcom, Kamehameha Schools and Hawaiian Electric Industries and its subsidiaries. The investigations related to these lawsuits are accelerating.

“Things are really ratcheting up right now,” said Jan Apo, a Maui lawyer who is also serving as one of several liaison attorneys for wildfire plaintiffs’ attorneys. Apo said his firm has more than 1,000 clients lined up.

The investigations by plaintiffs’ lawyers had been stalled after defendants including Hawaiian Electric Industries, Spectrum and Kamehameha Schools moved dozens of cases from Maui state court to federal court. But, earlier this month, U.S. District Court Judge Jill Otake said the federal court didn’t have jurisdiction and remanded the cases to state court.

Now, Apo said, the plaintiffs can resume discovery of documents from defendants as well as third parties with relevant information. Already plaintiffs’ lawyers have gathered hundreds if not thousands of pages of documents, Apo said.

Ultimately “there’s going to be thousands and thousands of pages of documents” produced, Apo said.

Lawyers on all sides are working with Maui Circuit Court Judge Peter Cahill to establish a centralized document management system so the parties can have convenient access to what is expected to be a massive library of potential evidence, Apo said.

The lawyers soon will begin deposing company executives and key witnesses, possibly in late April or early May, Apo said. The depositions will produce a mountain of testimonial material on top of documents, plus evidence from the accident scene, Apo said.

Apo predicted the plaintiffs’ investigations will be more detailed than what the state and county release.

“Quite frankly, our discovery will be much deeper, much more detailed,” he said. “We will dive way deeper than anybody else.”

Apo said Cahill is setting aside time to begin trials later this year.

State Report Will Not Discuss Fire’s Cause

In the meantime, the impending reports from officialdom will add to the collection of narratives on what happened on Aug. 8.

Plaintiffs allege the electric and telecom utilities contributed to the Lahaina fires by failing to design, construct, inspect and maintain their infrastructure as necessary to mitigate fire risks they knew about.

The plaintiffs also blame landowners like Kamehameha Schools for allegedly failing to properly manage vegetation on their lands, which plaintiffs say allowed the fire to spread more rapidly. The suits assert the state and Maui County failed to mitigate known wildfire risks on Maui and didn’t implement evacuation procedures, which resulted in chaos, property damage and death.

Hawaiian Electric Co., HEI’s utility subsidiary, is one of the few defendants to talk about the fire’s cause. The power company issued a statement less than three weeks after the fires acknowledging that fallen power lines had ignited a blaze the morning of Aug. 8 — an event that had been widely reported and documented on social media. But the company said the morning fire was extinguished, so the fire that burned much of Lahaina was caused by something else.

The first phase of the Hawaii attorney general’s report is expected to come out first. That investigation is being conducted by the private Fire Safety Research Institute under a $1.5 million contract with the state.

The contract, which was signed on Oct. 5, called for the first of three reports from the institute — including a detailed timeline of events — to be completed in three months.

A second report will evaluate things like incident response, pre-incident planning, firefighting capability and the county warning and water systems.

But on Monday, Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez announced the release of the first report would be pushed back to April 17. A news release from her office said the attorney general has had to issue dozens of subpoenas to get information from Maui County.

Specifically, the release said that in November the attorney general “served three subpoenas upon the Maui Emergency Management Agency, the County of Maui Department of Public Works and the County of Maui Department of Water Supply seeking documents relevant to the investigation.”

Afterward, according to the attorney general, Maui said “subpoenas would be required for all further information, including documents and interviews with county personnel.

“As a result, the Department has needed to serve upon County of Maui agencies and officials, eight additional subpoenas for documents and 53 additional subpoenas for interviews, to date,” the attorney general’s statement said.

Maui County Report Will Determine Origin Of Fire

Meanwhile, the Maui Fire Department’s investigation into the cause and origin of the fires could be coming as soon as late April.

Chudy, the federal ATF bureau’s spokesman, said the bureau has sent a team of investigators, which he described as “the best of the best,” to conduct the investigation. The investigators are conducting follow-up interviews with eyewitnesses and gathering additional documents, Chudy said.

“The most important thing to ATF is that we provide Maui Fire Department with the most complete and factual investigative details for their origin and cause report,” he said. 

Stankis, the Maui department spokesman, said it expects to receive the ATF report as early as late March, after which it could take two to three weeks for the fire department to incorporate its own findings and complete the report.

“We’re really at this point mostly waiting for ATF,” Stankis said.

Meanwhile, lawmakers are pushing for an independent wildfire investigation by an agency not involved in wildfire lawsuits.

A Senate resolution introduced in early March notes that Hawaii’s public utilities law requires the Public Utilities Commission to “investigate the causes of any accident which results in loss of life.”

“Despite this,” the resolution says, “the Public Utilities Commission has failed to investigate the causes of the August 2023 Maui wildfires.”

The resolution goes on to urge the PUC to “comply with its statutory duty to investigate the causes of the August 2023 Maui wildfire” and submit a report at least 20 days before the start of the 2025 session.

The measure is scheduled for a hearing on Friday before the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee and the Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs Committee.

The PUC has drafted testimony arguing it is “fulfilling its statutory mandate.”

The testimony, by Commissioner Colin Yost, outlines more than a dozen actions the PUC has taken in response to the fire. Those include issuing information requests to HECO related to grid engineering and operations, as well as the utility’s response to the fire. In addition, Yost wrote, the PUC has assigned two senior staff to support the ATF’s inquiry and has produced timely responses to inquiries from the attorney general.

Whether this will persuade the committees is unclear. The Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee’s chairman, Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole, has taken a tough stance when it comes to perceived conflicts of interest by government investigators.

After it became apparent that Lopez would be overseeing the state’s official investigation of the fires while simultaneously defending the state against lawsuits accusing the state of wrongdoing, Keohokalole sponsored a bill that would have allowed the attorney general to appoint a special counsel in circumstances where conflicts of interest were present.

The bill made it through the Senate but stalled in the House after Lopez testified that the department is independent and already has a range of options when conflicts of interest arise implicating the attorney general personally or the office.

In an interview, Keohokalole said the problem under the current law is that only the attorney general has the power to issue subpoenas pursuant to such investigations.

“So what happens when the state is implicated in the investigation?” he said. “It’s a clear cut conflict of interest.”

Concerning the PUC, Keohokalole said he is looking forward to Friday’s hearing.

“We’ve been asking for months for some clarity from them on what appears a mandate,” he said.

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BREAKING NEWS

TRACKER: 1,685 DNC delegates back Harris; she needs 291 more for nomination

Secret service chief noted a ‘zero fail mission.’ after trump rally, she’s facing calls to resign, woman’s body pulled from burned yacht after fire at keys marina.

Chris Gothner , Digital Journalist

STOCK ISLAND, Fla. – Authorities in the Florida Keys recovered the body of a St. Petersburg woman Friday who had been presumed dead following a massive yacht fire at a Stock Island marina Wednesday.

Linda Vella, 51, was on the Viking yacht with her husband and son and another family of four when the fire broke out just after midnight at the Perry Hotel and Marina, located at 7101 Shrimp Road, authorities said.

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Vella’s husband and son were seriously hurt and taken to a Miami-area hospital, while the family of four escaped unharmed.

The burned boat, which sank, “was lifted out of the water with great care before it was searched as it was structurally comprised due to the blaze,” Monroe County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Adam Linhardt said.

Foul play wasn’t believed to be a factor in the fire, which remained under investigation as of Friday, Linhardt said.

Copyright 2023 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.

About the Author

Chris gothner.

Chris Gothner joined the Local 10 News team in 2022 as a Digital Journalist.

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Woman presumed dead after fire erupts on yacht in florida keys.

Published on August 10th, 2023 | by Assoc Editor

Maui wildfires continue to decimate

Published on August 10th, 2023 by Assoc Editor -->

(August 10, 2023) – The rescue efforts are continuing after the death toll from the fast-moving wildfires wreaking havoc through Hawaii increased to 53, Maui County officials said. Blazes have been raging across Maui and have also been reported on the island of Hawaii, trapping locals and visitors as strong winds linked to Hurricane Dora continue to hamper efforts by authorities to contain the flames.

The fires tore through the historic, popular vacation town of Lahaina, in Maui County, which Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke said was decimated and forever changed. On it’s Instagram page , Lahaina Yacht Club posted the message, “Thank you to everyone who has reached out with thoughts and prayers. The LYC clubhouse may be gone, but it is the community that matters.”

Tourists have been warned to avoid traveling to the hard-hit island. More than 271 structures in Lahaina have been damaged so far, according to Maui officials. U.S. Civil Air Patrol and the Maui Fire Department conducted flyovers of the area, revealing widespread destruction to the West Maui town, the harbor and surrounding areas.

As of this morning, the Lahaina fire was 80 percent contained, county officials said. President Biden declared a major disaster in Hawaii and ordered federal aid to areas affected by wildfires, according to the White House. A second fire on Maui was 70 percent contained, officials added, and a third fire is pending further assessment.

The gusty winds that have been fueling fires on Maui and the Big Island are gradually relaxing. In its morning forecast discussion today, the National Weather Service office in Honolulu, which serves all of Hawaii, wrote that this morning’s winds were moderate to locally breezy, but noticeably much weaker than the last two days and the down trend in wind speeds should continue.

Editor’s note : This video from yesterday says so much: https://twitter.com/WxNB_/status/1689384898958917633

Source: Washington Post

Tags: Lahaina fire , Lahaina Yacht Club , tragedy

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• St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg woman presumed dead, husband and son hurt after boat fire in Florida Keys

• Amy Gehrt Times staff
• Esmé Fox Times staff

A 51-year-old St. Petersburg woman is missing and presumed dead, and her husband and son are hospitalized after a fire that destroyed the yacht they were on early Wednesday morning in the Florida Keys, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

The St. Petersburg family was on the approximately 70-foot Viking yacht with a family of four when it caught fire around 12:10 a.m. at the Perry Hotel & Marina Key West on Stock Island, the agency said in a Facebook post .

A second Facebook post identified the woman as Linda Vella, along with her husband, Michael Kenneth Robson, 58, and son Anthony Joseph Vella, 21. They were visiting the Florida Keys for the lobster mini-season.

The yacht was fully engulfed in flames when Monroe County Fire Rescue crews got to the scene, the Sheriff’s Office said. It took about three hours to extinguish the fire.

Michael Robson and Anthony Vella were airlifted to Ryder Trauma Center in Miami for treatment of their injuries, the Sheriff’s Office said. No one in the other family was injured.

Linda Vella’s husband and son went back into the burning boat to help her after she returned to the vessel to rescue a dog onboard, Monroe County Fire Chief Jim Callahan said. The dog remains missing.

Both men were burned severely on their hands and feet, Callahan said.

The boat sank, creating what the Sheriff’s Office called “hazardous conditions” that are complicating the search for the missing woman. Crews from the Sheriff’s Office Dive Team and TowBoat U.S. are assisting.

Brooklyn and Lisamarie Vella identified Linda Vella as their mother in separate online posts.

Lisamarie Vella linked to a GoFundMe page honoring her mother’s memory on an Instagram story showing the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office’s initial post .

On the GoFundMe page, Lisamarie Vella wrote, in part, “I woke up to a night mare I have no words I can’t even put myself together. Unfortunately a tragedy happened and my parents boat blew up in flames. My brother and dad are in critical condition in Miami burn center as for my mom and her dog they didn’t make it off the boat.”

“Such a beautiful soul, the best mother and even greater friend!” one post from Brooklyn Vella says.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Brooklyn Vella (@brooklynvella_)

“Dozer was here best friend,” the post continues. “she loved that damn dog so much I believe she sacrificed herself to try and save him.”

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“I will mourn you for the rest of my life,” Brooklyn Vella’s post says.

The cause of the fire is being investigated by state fire marshals and detectives from the Sheriff’s Office, authorities said.

Times staff writer Emma Uber contributed to this report.

Amy Gehrt is a production editor. Reach her at [email protected].

Esmé Fox is an intern covering trends and explainers. Contact her at [email protected].

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