Hawaii

USA: 911 calls from Maui capture pleas for the stranded, the missing and those caught in the fire’s chaos

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) —The day after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century destroyed a seaside community on Maui, the barrage of 911 calls didn’t stop: Reports of missing people, stranded family members and confused tourists trapped without food or water lit up the emergency lines every few minutes, interspersed with reports of new fires starting and older ones flaring back up.

USA: Wildfire prevention and helping Maui recover from flames top the agenda for Hawaii lawmakers

HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii lawmakers are due to convene this week for the first time since the burning of historic Lahaina awakened the state to the deadly and costly threat posed by wildfires in an age of climate change.

The tragedy refocused the attention of lawmakers. Now, fighting and preventing wildfires and helping the island of Maui recover from the flames top the agenda as Hawaii’s Legislature returns for a new session this week.

“It really kicked us into gear in a different way,” said state Rep. Nadine Nakamura, the House majority leader and a Democrat.

USA: $100M will be left for Native Hawaiian causes from the estate of an heiress considered last princess

HONOLULU (AP) — In life, Abigail Kawānanakoa embodied the complexities of Hawaii: Many considered her a princess — a descendant of the royal family that once ruled the islands.

But she was also the great-granddaughter of a sugar baron and inherited vast wealth thanks to Westerners who upended traditional ways of life through the introduction of private property and the diversion of water for industrial plantations.

USA: Flight data recorder recovered from US Navy plane that overshot the runway near Honolulu

KANEOHE, Hawaii (AP) — The flight data recorder of a large U.S. Navy plane that overshot a runway and ended up in the water near Honolulu this week has been recovered as the military continues to plan for the aircraft’s removal.

The Navy’s Aircraft Mishap Board is investigating on scene at Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe Bay, trying to determine the cause of the accident and any contributing factors, the Navy said Friday in a statement.

USA: Maui wildfire survivors camp on the beach to push mayor to convert vacation rentals into housing

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — A group of Lahaina wildfire survivors is vowing to camp on a popular resort beach until the mayor uses his emergency powers to shut down unpermitted vacation rentals and make the properties available for residents in desperate need of housing.

Navy plane overshoots runway and ends up in ocean, but all 9 aboard escape unharmed

HONOLULU (AP) — A Navy plane flying in rainy weather overshot a runway Monday at a military base in Hawaii and splashed into Kaneohe Bay, but all nine aboard were uninjured, authorities said.

The Coast Guard responded, but rescue operations were quickly called off, said Petty Officer Ryan Fisher, a Coast Guard spokesperson. “It sounds like all parties involved were rescued,” he said.

Marine Corps spokesperson Gunnery Sgt. Orlando Perez had no information about what caused the P-8A aircraft to go off the runway at Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

USA: There’s another wildfire burning in Hawaii. This one is destroying irreplaceable rainforest on Oahu

HONOLULU (AP) — A wildfire burning in a remote Hawaii rainforest is underscoring a new reality for the normally lush island state just a few months after a devastating blaze on a neighboring island leveled an entire town and killed at least 99 people.

USA: Schools near a Maui wildfire burn zone are reopening. Parents wrestle with whether to send kids back

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Children take their places at folding tables on a church patio several miles from where their school burned down. Plastic tubs hold brand new textbooks quickly shipped from a publisher. Recess is on the resort golf course across the street.

The wind-driven wildfire that leveled the historic Maui town of Lahaina this summer displaced many pupils not just from their homes, but from their schools, forcing their families and education officials to scramble to find other ways to teach them.

USA: Tourism resuming in West Maui near Lahaina as hotels and timeshare properties welcome visitors

HONOLULU (AP) — The area around the Maui town largely destroyed by wildfire two months ago was scheduled to welcome back travelers on Sunday as the mayor and Hawaii’s governor pushed ahead to restart tourism to boost the economy despite opposition from some Lahaina residents.

USA: An old car tire, burnt trees and a utility pole may be key in finding how the Maui wildfire spread

(AP) --- Melted remains of an old car tire. Heavily burned trees. A charred stump of an abandoned utility pole.

Investigators are examining these and other pieces of evidence as they seek to solve the mystery of last month’s deadly Maui wildfire: How did a small, wind-whipped fire sparked by downed power lines and declared extinguished flare up again hours later into a devastating inferno?

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