Las Vegas rescue team to aid in Hawaii wildfires
Hawaii #Hawaii
Ty O’Neil / AP
A wildfire burns in Kihei, Hawaii late Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. Thousands of residents raced to escape homes on Maui as blazes swept across the island, destroying parts of a centuries-old town in one of the deadliest U.S. wildfires in recent years.
Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023 | 12:53 p.m.
The Clark County Fire Department is sending a five-person team to help with search and recovery efforts amid deadly wildfires in Maui.
The crew is part of Nevada Task Force 1, the state’s only urban search and rescue team. It includes local emergency responders and two search-and-rescue dogs.
The wildfire burning through Maui, Hawaii’s second largest island, started Tuesday and has burned neighborhoods in the historic town of Lahaina.
At least 36 people have died, making this fire the deadliest since the 2018 Camp Fire in California that killed at least 85 people and destroyed the town of Paradise.
The Maui fire has damaged or destroyed 271 structures, with dozens of people injured, officials said.
With only minutes to escape the flames, some residents had to jump into the ocean. The Coast Guard reported rescuing 14 people from the water.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.