Explainer-What to know about Maui's wildfires, Hawaii's deadliest disaster
By Jonathan Oatis
(Reuters) -Wildfires on Hawaii's Maui have killed at least 96 people, forced tens of thousands of residents and tourists to evacuate the island and devastated the historic resort city of Lahaina. It's the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. The Big Island of Hawaii is also battling wildfires, which have caused no fatalities.
Here are some key questions and answers about the blazes:
ARE THE MAUI FIRES STILL BURNING?
Firefighting crews were still battling flare-ups. The largest fire in Lahaina is 85% contained and has burned 2,170 acres (880 hectares), Maui County said. Another fire in upcountry/Kula is 60% contained and has charred 678 acres (270 hectares). Smaller fires elsewhere are now 100% contained.
The fires, which started the night of Aug. 8, wreaked widespread destruction in Lahaina. The city of about 13,000 people on northwestern Maui was once a whaling center and the Hawaiian Kingdom's capital, and now draws 2 million tourists a year.
Cadaver dogs searched Lahaina's charred ruins for victims, and officials said it was likely the number of dead would rise.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) estimates it will cost $5.5 billion to rebuild the town.
HOW DOES THE DEATH TOLL COMPARE WITH THAT OF OTHER FIRES?
The Maui blaze is the deadliest U.S. wildfire since 1918, when northern Minnesota's Cloquet Fire, which raged for more than four days, claimed 453 lives, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). The deadliest wildfire in U.S history, Wisconsin's Peshtigo fire in 1871, killed 1,152.
Hawaii's fires also constitute the most lethal disaster to hit the islands since a tsunami that killed 61 people in 1960, a year after Hawaii became a U.S. state.
WHAT ABOUT
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