After an unusually dry year in Hawaiʻi, two small bushfires, heavily fanned by Category 4 Hurricane Dora in the Pacific, grew rapidly overnight. More than 1,000 acres of land has burned, and communities are already facing major power and telecom outages as well as road disruptions. The governor announced a state of emergency this morning and issued evacuation orders in towns across multiple islands, including Kohala Ranch, Lahaini, Kula and Wahikuli.
WCK’s Emergency Response Team arrived on Maui and the Big Island of Hawai‘i on Wednesday, August 9th and began assessing damage from the fires, as well as providing hundreds of sandwiches to first responders and community members.
Our team is currently focusing efforts in Maui, specifically Kaanapali, Lahaina and Napili, and will be increasing meal distribution in the coming days with sandwiches, fruit, water and hot meals where possible. With many families moving to local shelters and hotels, WCK will begin to serve hot meals at these locations as the number of evacuees continues to rise.