Deadly wildfires whip across Hawaii

Thousands of people have been displaced due to catastrophic wildfires that have killed at least 36 people across the Hawaiian island of Maui.

Transcript

00:00 and to prevent human suffering and mitigate great property loss.

00:04 Hurricane Dora, passing more than 800 miles to the south,

00:07 helped to fan strong winds over the islands, causing the fire to spread

00:11 quickly and forcing families to make harrowing escapes.

00:14 The gas stations blew up, everything caught fire by the brush,

00:19 and then we just had to evacuate.

00:21 Helicopter footage shows the extent of the damage.

00:24 Hundreds of homes and buildings burned to the ground,

00:26 many of them in the historic town of Lahaina.

00:29 Hawaii's lieutenant governor says the state's geography hindered response efforts.

00:34 You know, because we're an island state, it's difficult,

00:39 only because we can't just drive to the next island, next town, and assist.

00:44 Stranded passengers line the hallways of the airport, waiting for flights off the island.

00:49 Officials are asking visitors to leave the popular tourist destination as soon as possible,

00:54 as they work to help the hundreds of families displaced.

00:58 We need to make sure the people who have been affected by this,

01:02 we need to get their immediate needs met.

01:05 In the future, we rebuild.

01:07 Lahaina is strong, it's not just an expression.

01:10 So we start rebuilding.

01:11 In Honolulu, I'm Mike Valeria reporting.