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At Least 36 Killed On Maui As Fires Burn Through Hawaii And Thousands Race To Escape
(WAILUKU, Hawaii) – Thousands of Hawaii residents rushed to flee their homes on Maui as fires raged across the island, destroying parts of a centuries-old village and killing at least 36 people in one of the deadliest wildfires in recent years in the United States.
The fire caught the island off guard, leaving burned-out automobiles on once-busy streets and burning piles of wreckage where historic buildings once stood in Lahaina Town, which dates back to the 1700s and has long been a popular tourist destination. Crews battled fires in multiple locations across the island on Wednesday, forcing several people and children to flee into the ocean.
According to a statement issued late Wednesday by Maui County, at least 36 individuals have perished, with no other details available. Officials had stated that 271 structures had been damaged or destroyed, and dozens of people had been hurt. The Camp Fire in California in 2018 killed at least 85 people and nearly destroyed the town of Paradise.
With the fires still burning and teams reaching out to explore scorched regions, officials cautioned that the death toll in Hawaii might grow.
On Tuesday afternoon, Kamuela Kawaakoa and Iiulia Yasso of Lahaina reported a terrifying escape beneath smoke-filled skies. After a short sprint to the grocery for water, the couple and their 6-year-old son returned to their flat with enough time to change clothes and flee as the bushes around them caught fire.
“We barely made it out,” Kawaakoa said at an evacuation center on Wednesday, still unclear if their flat was still intact.
Thousands of Hawaii residents rushed to flee their homes on Maui as fires raged across the island.
As the family escaped, a senior center across the street caught fire. They contacted 911 but had no idea if the people had escaped. Downed electricity poles and others fleeing in cars impeded their progress as they drove away. “It was so hard to just sit there and watch my town burn to ashes and not be able to do anything,” said Kawaakoa, 34.
Tourists were urged to avoid the area while the flames raged, and approximately 11,000 people flew out of Maui on Wednesday, with at least another 1,500 scheduled to leave on Thursday, according to Ed Sniffen, state transportation director. Officials in Honolulu prepared the Hawaii Convention Centre to house thousands of displaced people.
Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen Jr. states that the island has “been tested like never before in our lifetime.”
“We are grieving with each other during this inconsolable time,” he added in an audio recording. “In the days ahead, we will be stronger as a’kaiaulu,’ or community, as we rebuild with resilience and aloha.”
Strong gusts from Hurricane Dora, passing far to the south, fanned the fires. It’s the latest in a string of calamities triggered by harsh weather this summer worldwide. According to experts, climate change is increasing the risk of such disasters.
Thousands of Hawaii residents rushed to flee their homes on Maui as fires raged across the island.
The fires in Hawaii are not like those in the Western United States. They typically start in extensive grasslands on the drier portions of the islands and are much smaller than mainland fires. In 2021, a big fire on the Big Island destroyed homes and drove people to flee. The Big Island is also experiencing fires, according to Mayor Mitch Roth. However, there have been no reports of injuries or destroyed properties.
Pilots could see the full extent of the wreckage as the winds eased on Maui on Wednesday. Aerial footage from Lahaina showed hundreds of homes and businesses destroyed, including those on Front Street, where tourists used to congregate to shop and dine. Smoking rubble mounds were piled high along the waterfront, boats in the harbor were burnt, and grey smoke lingered over the leafless carcasses of charred trees.
“It’s frightening. “I’ve been flying here for 52 years, and I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Richard Olsten, a tour business helicopter pilot. “We both had tears in our eyes.”Search-and-rescue teams are dispersed throughout the destroyed areas in the hopes of locating survivors, according to Adam Weintraub, communication director for the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
Concerned about future casualties, Weintraub stated, “These were large and fast-moving fires, and it’s only recently that we’ve started to get our arms around them and contain them.” So, we’re praying for the best but bracing for the worse.”
Around 14,500 Maui customers were without electricity early Wednesday. Many people could not contact relatives and family living near the flames due to a lack of mobile service and phone connections in some locations. Some were using social media to send messages.
Tiare Lawrence was desperately attempting to contact her siblings, who live near the Lahaina petrol station that erupted.
“There’s no service, so we can’t reach anyone,” she explained from Pukalani, Maui.
The Hawaii State Department of Defense’s Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara told reporters Wednesday night that officials were working to restore communications, provide water, and add law enforcement troops. According to him, National Guard helicopters splashed 150,000 gallons of water on the Maui fires.
Thousands of Hawaii residents rushed to flee their homes on Maui as fires raged across the island.
The Coast Guard rescued 14 individuals, including two children, who plunged into the water to escape the flames and smoke.
Officials said three persons with significant burns were hospitalized and evacuated to Oahu.
At a news conference Wednesday morning, Maui County Mayor Bissen said investigators had not yet begun investigating the direct cause of the fires, but officials did point to a mix of dry conditions, low humidity, and high winds.
Mauro Farinelli of Lahaina said the winds began to blow fiercely on Tuesday, and a fire started on a hillside.
“It just ripped through everything with amazing speed,” he recalled, adding that it felt “like a blowtorch.”
Farinelli said the winds were so fierce that they blew his garage door off its hinges, trapping his car inside. So a buddy took him, his wife Judit, and their dog Susi to an evacuation shelter. He had no idea what had become of their house.
“We’re hoping for the best,” he said, “but we’re pretty sure it’s gone.”
President Joe Biden directed that all federal assets be available to respond. He stated that the Hawaii National Guard had dispatched helicopters to assist with fire suppression and search-and-rescue activities.
Thousands of Hawaii residents rushed to flee their homes on Maui as fires raged across the island.
“Our hearts go out to those who have lost their homes, businesses, and communities,” Biden said.
Governor Josh Green cut his trip short and intended to return Wednesday evening. In his absence, interim Gov. Sylvia Luke declared an emergency and advised tourists to avoid the area.
Alan Dicker, who runs a poster gallery and three properties in Lahaina, lamented the town’s and his losses.
“The central two blocks are the economic heart of this island, and I don’t know what’s left,” he explained. “Everything significant I owned burned down today.”
SOURCE – (AP)
News
Canadian Man Arrested for TikTok Video That Threatened Trudeau
A TikTok video that went live earlier this week has led to a Toronto man facing charges of threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland. Andrew Marshall, 61, is facing two counts of uttering threats.
On Friday afternoon, the Ontario Court of Justice granted him bail with a surety and restrictions after the RCMP charged him on Wednesday.
Following Monday’s upload to TikTok, CBC Toronto conducted its own independent investigation of the video. Marshall vehemently opposes what he perceives as restrictions on free expression in Canada in it.
“I get them taken down all the time— I make videos — or all my comments, that are just simple comments,” Marsh says in the TikTok. “It’s just getting ridiculous, Marshall said.”
According to the CBC more and more people are threatening politicians. The commissioner of the RCMP has hinted that further measures may be necessary to ensure their safety.
In the TikTok video, Marshall explains in great detail how he would brutally assassinate Trudeau and Freeland “if it was up to him.”
Marshall attacks multiple groups throughout the roughly 11-minute TikTok video, including the media, Muslims, migrants, and the police who defend the government.
Among Marshall’s bail terms are the following: he must not communicate with Trudeau or Freeland; he must not use the internet to make social media posts or comments; he must not own any weapons; and he must not apply for a firearms permit.
During the bail hearing, the prosecution provided all of the evidence that is often not published.
Nate Jackson, Marshall’s attorney, stressed his client’s liberties and privileges as a Canadian in an email message.
“He has the right to freedom of speech, the right to reasonable bail and the right to a fair trial,” he said. “Having secured his release from custody, we will continue to defend Mr. Marshall’s Charter rights as his case proceeds.”
Neither Freeland’s nor the prime minister’s office would comment on the allegations, according to the CBC.
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Canada’s Unemployment Rate Hits its Highest Point Since 2017
As the job market remains dismal, the national unemployment rate in Canada has risen to its highest point since 2017. This has led some analysts to question whether the Bank of Canada should be reducing interest rates more quickly.
In spite of a net gain of 22,000 jobs, Statistics Canada reported on Friday that the unemployment rate increased to 6.6% from 6.4% the previous month. The rise was due to an uptick in part-time employment and a fall in full-time employment.
Outside of the pandemic years, the national unemployment rate has reached its highest position since May 2017, according to StatCan.
Rapid population expansion in Canada has increased the overall labour pool, but the country’s unemployment rate has persisted in rising.
The summer job market was especially tough for students, according to StatCan. Not including the pandemic, the unemployment rate among students going back to school in the autumn was 16.7 percent, which is the highest level since 2012.
Two days after the Bank of Canada dropped interest rates for the third time in a row, reducing borrowing costs to alleviate economic pressure, the most recent reading of the Canadian job market follows suit.
According to TD Bank economist Leslie Preston, who wrote a note on Friday, the central bank is “giving the OK” to keep dropping rates due to the bad August jobs report. Preston predicts two more quarter-point decreases at the remaining decisions this year.
According to CIBC senior economist Andrew Grantham, there are indications that the labour market is quickly contracting more than initially thought, since the unemployment rate is nearly two percentage points greater than the record low of 4.9% in June 2022.
“Due to this, we believe the Bank should be contemplating a quicker rate of reductions in order to bring interest rates to less restrictive levels,” he informed clients in a letter on Friday morning.
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US Job Growth Falls Short of Expectations: Economy Struggles Under High Interest Rates
Last month, job growth in the United States was weaker than predicted, prompting concerns that the world’s largest economy is beginning to struggle under the weight of increased interest rates.
The Labour Department said that employers added 142,000 jobs in August, which was less than the nearly 160,000 economists predicted. It also stated that job gains over the preceding two months were weaker than expected.
However, the jobless rate went down to 4.2%, down from 4.3% in July.
The report is one of the most important indicators of the US economy and arrives at a vital time, as voters consider presidential candidates for the November election and the US central bank contemplates its first interest rate decrease in four years.
Analysts said the latest statistics kept the Federal Reserve on pace for a rate drop at its meeting this month, but did little to answer worries about the trajectory of the US economy or how much of a cut it should make.
“There has rarely been such a make-or-break number; unfortunately, today’s jobs report does not completely resolve the recession debate,” said Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management.
Soaring prices in 2022 caused the Federal Reserve to hike its key lending rate to 5.3%, a nearly 20-year high.
Faced with increased borrowing costs for homes, vehicles, and other debt, the economy has slowed, helping to alleviate pressures that were boosting inflation but exacerbating market concerns.
As inflation has fallen to 2.9% in July, the Fed is under pressure to decrease interest rates to prevent additional economic deceleration.
Although job increases in August fell short of expectations, they were greater than in July, when a slowdown aroused anxieties and triggered several days of stock market volatility.
Last month, construction and health-care firms hired the most, while manufacturing and retailers laid off employees.
Ms Shah stated that the data in Friday’s report was mixed, but provided enough concerning indicators that the Fed should make a larger cut.
“On balance, with inflation pressures subdued, there is no reason for the Fed not to err on the side of caution and frontload rate cuts,” she told reporters.
Others, however, felt the advances were just steady enough to warrant a 0.25 percentage point decrease, as markets had long projected – though this could signal more cuts than expected in the coming months.
Paul Ashworth, Capital Economics’ senior North America economist, predicted that the Fed’s decision will be “close run.”
“The labour market is clearly experiencing a marked slowdown,” he said, adding that the new statistics were “overall still consistent with an economy experiencing a soft landing rather than plummeting into recession”.
Concerns about the economy are a major issue in the US election.
According to polls, a majority of Americans feel the US is in a recession, despite healthy 2.5% growth last year.
Donald Trump has declared that the economy is headed for a “crash,” and his team instantly latched on the latest data to criticise Vice President Kamala Harris, publishing a press release titled “warning lights flash as Kamala’s economy continues to weaken.”
Democrats have defended their performance, claiming that the United States survived the pandemic and inflation better than many other countries.
They believe the slowdown is a sign that the economy is returning to a more sustainable rate of growth following the post-pandemic boom.
“Although hiring has slowed, the US job market continues to generate solid job gains and wage growth that is consistently beating inflation,” the White House Council of Economic Advisors stated in a blog.
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