Maui mayor compares wildfire destruction to ‘war zone’

Maui, Hawaii, Mayor Richard Bissen Jr. compared the wildfire destruction on the island to a “war zone” in an interview Friday as the official death toll reached 55.

In an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Bissen said he surveyed the damage across the historic tourist town of Lahaina with Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Gov. Josh Green and Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara.

“The closest thing I can compare it to is perhaps a war zone or maybe a bomb went off. It was cars in the street, doors open, you know, melted to the ground. Most structures no longer exist,” Bissen said. “For blocks and blocks of this.”

“I’m familiar with what it looked like growing up here on Maui, especially with my mom working at one of the restaurants there … for 17 years. And so it doesn’t resemble anything that it looked like look like when I was growing up,” Bissen added.

The death toll from the wildfires has reached 55 people and is expected to continue to rise as recovery efforts are underway. 

Bissen said he is focused now on fighting the wildfires, saving lives and property, and preventing further harm, noting there will be an investigative stage in the future. He pledged to rebuild what has been lost and thanked President Biden for his support and for quickly approving an emergency declaration request.

“But right now, our goal is to is to calm our community. They need to know that we are working together with our federal and state and county partners, our allies, the business community. There’s been an outpouring of so much donations and offers of help, so we’re coordinating all of that right now,” Bissen said.

“We’re very thankful for all the folks that are offering their expertise and their help to us, and we’re taking full advantage of that by accepting that help,” he said. “And we are continuing again to get the message to our community that we will rebuild.”