Photo: County of Maui photo by Zeke Kalua
Authorities in Hawaii are working to evacuate tourists and residents from Maui as large wildfires burn across the island. The wildfires are being spread in part by high winds, which are gusting up to 60 mph due to a Category 4 hurricane that is churning in the Pacific Ocean hundreds of miles south of Hawaii.
"Strong winds coupled with low humidity levels are producing dangerous fire weather conditions that will last through the afternoon hours. A more typical moderate to breezy trade wind weather pattern returns from Thursday into early next week," the National Weather Service said on Wednesday (August 9).
The wildfires have burned hundreds of acres, knocked out power to thousands of people on the island, and destroyed numerous buildings. In addition, 911 emergency call services were taken offline.
According to USA Today, some residents were fleeing into the ocean to escape the smoke and flames and had to be rescued by the Coast Guard.
Officials said they are unsure about the true extent of the damage as firefighters try to get the fires under control.
"We have a lot that we will learn at daybreak," County of Maui spokesperson Mahina Martin told USA Today. "It's been an unprecedented incident striking large areas of our island, and it has been pretty much all hands on deck."