The fires that suffers the island of Maui, in the Hawaiian archipelago, continues to leave a trail of unprecedented devastation, with at least 36 people having died in the last few hours. “As the Lahaina firefighting continues, they have discovered 36 total deaths“, they say from the county.

The fires, which are still out of control, have caused the displacement of thousands of people, for which the authorities fear that the number of fatalities could increase in the coming hours. “We have to be united and have courage“, said in a press conference in Honolulu the lieutenant governor of the state, Sylvia Luke, who is in charge of the emergency since the governor, Josh Green, is traveling outside the archipelago.

Luke also announced that he signed an emergency declaration to discourage the arrival of tourists to the island: “This morning there were planes with tourists that landed on Maui. It’s not a safe place“.

In the same press conference, the mayor of Maui County, Richard Bissen, was connected telematically, who said that at least six people have already died from the fires. “Search and rescue efforts are still going on. So I don’t know what will happen to this number“warned the politician.

Biden’s message on the fires

In a statement issued shortly after the news broke, the US President, Joe Bidensent his condolences to the families of the deceased and asked the residents of the archipelago to follow the evacuation orders and pay attention to those responsible.

He also appreciated the work of firefighters and emergency services workers who “continue to run into danger, putting themselves at risk to save lives.”

Finally, he assured that he has ordered that all federal resources on the island be used to help in the response to the fires, mobilizing National Guard and Marine helicopters and chartering planes to evacuate tourists, among other measures. Nails 2,100 people are in shelters across the island as the battle against the flames continues.

The largest fire began to spread Tuesday in the town of Lahaina, one of the most popular with tourists, forcing many residents to take shelter in the ocean to escape the flames and smoke. They were later rescued by the Coast Guard. The fires are also affecting Kula, another area of ​​Maui, as well as the Kohala Peninsula on the island of Hawaii.

On Tuesday, Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke activated the Hawaii National Guard to assist with evacuation and disaster response efforts and declared a period of emergency aid It will be valid until August 15. The Governor is expected to arrive in Hawaii tonight to take charge of the emergency.