At least six people have been killed by wildfires in Hawaii, CNN reported citing Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen Jr.
The mayor said search and rescue efforts are being carried out and warned that the number of people killed could increase as more information becomes available.
According to Bissen, at least six other people were injured. Richard Bissen Jr said three of the injured were burn related. A firefighter was also taken to the hospital and was undergoing treatment for smoke inhalation, CNN reported.
Bissen said many structures have been destroyed with several of them being burnt "to the ground."
He said the officials and first responders' main focus remains to "save lives and preserve lives," according to CNN report. He further said that the secondary focus is to try to save property and added that both fire departments and objectives are working very hard to do. He said that the fire department is working in 24-hour shifts to contain the fire.
Meanwhile, crews with Hawaiian Electric have been urging people to be patient as they work to restore power to people impacted in West Maui and Upcountry, as per the news report.
Spokesperson Shayna Decken, in a statement on Wednesday, said, "We are all hands on deck in supporting and responding to Maui communities affected by the outages, active wildfires, and sustained high wind damage," CNN reported.
Decken added, "Our focus right now is the safety of our communities, customers, and workforce and prioritizing power restoration to areas that our crews can safely access."
As per the news report, approximately 12,400 customers remain without power in West Maui and crews are analysing the damage from the wildfire. The crews have been working working to repair multiple downed poles and power lines in various areas.
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