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DLNews Staff:

People jump into the sea in fear of death. Holiday destinations are evacuated. Emergency calls go nowhere. The dream of Hawaii (USA) becomes a hell of fire!

Since Wednesday, thirty-six people have died in the severe bush and forest fires on Maui and Hawaii (Big Island) islands! Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen confirmed this.

Winds have reignited fires in the US state of Hawaii.

Winds from Hurricane Dora reignited the fires. The true extent of the damage is still uncertain. Travel to Hawaii is discouraged!

One in three fires destroyed most of the historic whaling and plantation town of Lahaina (population 12,700). It is considered the economic heart of Maui. People jumped into the Pacific here to save themselves from the flames.

"We still have bodies floating around in the ocean," a resident told Hawaii News Now. "Since last night, we have been pulling people out of the water and trying to save their lives."

Dozens of buildings were destroyed. Several hundred families lost their homes. They only managed to escape via an open road. Videos of locals online show them driving through the fire - and people lying motionless on the road.

Hawaii declares a state of emergency.

  The acting governor of the US state, Sylvia Luke (55), declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard. President Joe Biden requested "all available federal funding" to help fight the wildfires.

Maui Mayor Richard T. Bissen Jr. said 13 evacuations were made on his island.

There, the west coast, popular with tourists, was hit. The US Coast Guard announced on X (formerly Twitter) that they had rescued twelve people from the water. "People are jumping into the water to avoid the flames," Coast Guard officer Kenneth Hara said on regional television.

Motorists fleeing Lahaina narrowly escaped the fires.

Burn victims are flown out.

Gov. Luke told CNN hundreds of acres of land had already been burned. And: the hospitals are “overburdened with patients with burns” and people who have inhaled smoke.

We have to fly people out of Maui to treat their burns.” However, it was initially unclear how many people were injured.

Tragic: No rescue workers can reach you if you need help in the fiery hell! The emergency call failed. Residents need cell phone reception. According to the Poweroutage.us website, more than 15,000 homes and businesses across Hawaii were also without power.

The authorities are now preparing the "Hawaii Convention Center" in Honolulu to accommodate up to 4,000 displaced persons and tourists. Economy Minister James Tokioka: "The locals have lost everything."