A slew of videos and photographs from Hawaii went viral on Wednesday, showing the total destruction from a series of wildfires ravaging the state.
Footage shared by Instagram user Matt Brevner showed the chaos of the active wildfire, as residents attempted to flee while strong winds blew burning embers all around them. It looks terrifying, like something from an apocalypse film.
An individual named Graham Allan also shared footage to Instagram that shows a man sleeping on a lawn chair next to a seawall, as a few others stand around, surveying the devastation. Every building, car and structure appears scorched, with significant debris lining the walkways and extending into the ocean.
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Passengers aboard a plane captured haunting footage of the town of Lahaina burning … in its entirety.
Passenger plane captures devastating wildfires happening in Lahaina, Hawaii pic.twitter.com/uivFCUE0tD
— Latest in space (@latestinspace) August 10, 2023
One Twitter user shared a clip of the extremely high winds from Hurricane Dora fanning both the major fires, but also blowing over power poles and transformers.
Hawaii, right now: Winds are destroying power poles and transformers, causing more fires, communication outages, and wind gusts of more than 50 mph are fanning flames across Hawaii. Forest fires on the Hawaiian island of Maui have already claimed 36 lives. The fire has already… pic.twitter.com/KsQsJX8r8C
— Peacemaker (@jardacarda72) August 10, 2023
Many residents were forced to flee into the ocean to avoid the flames. Another clip shared by Today News Africa’s White House correspondent Simon Ateba appeared to show debris in the ocean continuing to burn throughout the night. (RELATED: At Least 2 Killed, Millions Without Power As Thunderstorms Batter US)
BREAKING – DEADLY HAWAII WILDFIRES: Maui officials say the
death toll has now risen to 36 people. Surreal images continue to come in.Lahaina, a well-liked vacation spot on Maui, has suffered severe damage. Tourists are being advised to refrain from traveling to the heavily… pic.twitter.com/clmZo6RzfZ
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) August 10, 2023
The death toll from the fires reached at least 36 on Thursday morning.