An aerial image taken on August 10, 2023 shows destroyed homes and buildings on the waterfront burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
The death toll from a terrifying wildfire that razed a historic Hawaiian town hit 53 Thursday, making it one of the deadliest disasters to strike the islands since they became a US state.
Brushfires on the west coast of Hawaii’s Maui island — fueled by high winds from a nearby hurricane — broke out Tuesday and rapidly engulfed the seaside town of Lahaina.
The flames moved so quickly that many were caught off-guard, trapped in the streets or jumping into the ocean in a desperate bid to escape.
“In 1960 we had 61 fatalities when a large wave came through Big Island,” Governor Josh Green said, referring to a tragedy that struck a year after Hawaii became the…
