Deadly Wildfires “A lot of the survivors had to leave their homes very quickly and did not have an opportunity to get anything or take anything with them and many have lost everything,” said Mariel Fonteyn, Americares director of U.S. emergency response. Devastating wildfires, spurred by dry conditions and strong winds in the aftermath of Hurricane Dora, have swept through the Hawaiian Islands, killing 97 people, causing major destruction and displacing thousands across Maui, the Big Island, and Lahaina. The Maui wildfires that consumed the community of Lahaina are the deadliest in the U.S in more than 100 years according to the National Fire Protection Association. Much of historic downtown Lahaina has been reduced to ash. Search and recovery efforts have been completed and the next phase of recovery is underway. Hundreds of people are still listed as missing. Approximately 2,200 structures have been destroyed or damaged in Maui, most of them residential. President Joe Biden approved an emergency disaster declaration, authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide support and federal funding for the recovery. Americares deployed an emergency team to Hawaii. Click on the arrow above to watch a recent video update from our first team in Hawaii. Updated 9.18.23 An aerial image taken on August 10, 2023 shows a person walking down Front Street past destroyed buildings burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii, that began on August 8. Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images