Hawaii wildfires: Dramatic before and after photos show devastation | World News

Fresh aerial photos reveal the utter devastation wrought on Hawaii’s Maui island by wildfires which have killed at least 55 people.

Governor Josh Green called it the ‘largest natural disaster in Hawaii state history’, with 80% of the historic town of Lahaina ‘gone’.

Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen Jr told ABC’s Good Morning America: ‘The closest thing I think I can compare it to is perhaps a war zone, or maybe a bomb went off.

‘It was cars in the street, doors open, melted to the ground. Most structures no longer exist. And from blocks and blocks of this.’

The inferno, which erupted on Tuesday, reduced Lahaina to piles of smouldering debris as it torched 1,000 buildings, incinerated cars and left thousands homeless.

Mr Bissen, who grew up in Maui, said he can remember what the town looked like since his mother worked at a restaurant there, the Pioneer Inn, for 17 years.

‘It doesn’t resemble anything that it looked like when I was growing up,’ he added.

The mayor told reporters authorities are still trying to locate and identify people who died there when the fire raced through the town.

‘People whose homes are not damaged — you can come home as soon as we have recovered those who have perished,’ he said. ‘Please allow us to complete this process.’

Search and rescue teams from California and Washington state, which are trained in disaster skills including using dogs to find human remains, have been deployed to Maui to assist with the process.

Maui Police Chief John Pelletier asked for patience, prayers and perseverance.

‘We have to respect that we have loved ones in that earth and we have to get them out,’ he said, adding his officers are trained to catch ‘bad guys’ and not specifically to pull bodies from buildings.

People also need to stay away from the burn area because it remains very hazardous, according to Fire Chief Brad Ventura, who said some people have been hurt by falling telephone poles.

Pope Francis sent a telegram of condolences to the people of Hawaii, offering prayers for the victims, the injured and displaced from the wildfires.

The note said Francis was saddened to learn of the destruction and ‘expressed solidarity with all those suffering from this tragedy, especially those whose loved ones have died or are missing’.

He also offered prayers for emergency responders who are providing aid to the victims.

Among the charities set up in the wake of the disaster in an animal welfare organisation seeking donations to help care for hundreds of dogs, cats and other animals that have been injured or separated from their human families.

The Maui Humane Society says many animals are also in need of critical care due to smoke inhalation. The group said that it expects an inundation of lost pets.

It is seeking emergency foster homes, pet food and litter, and cash donations to provide medical care for wounded animals and to keep pets in their homes.

As of Friday morning, the organization had raised via Facebook more than half of its goal of £236,000 ($300,000).

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