In the wake of brutal wildfires scorching much of Hawaii’s island of Maui, the Maui Humane Society has called for emergency foster parents and other aid in order to protect animals affected by the blazes.
In Facebook posts, the Maui Humane Society has asked locals to help foster animals to make space for incoming injured or lost pets, as well as donating pet supplies, food and money if possible.
“With our population over capacity before this tragedy, we are running extremely low on space, supplies and fosters. As we are experiencing tragedy or know someone who is, we will need to band together as a community for both our humans and animals. If you are in a position to help, please do—and there are multiple ways to help,” the Maui Humane Society said in a post late on Wednesday night.
Stock image of a firefighter rescuing a dog from a burning building. The Maui Humane Society has appealed for donations and emergency fostering to allow them to support lost and injured animals in the wake of the Maui fires. ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS
“We need SOS Dog Fosters. Come into the shelter and temporarily foster a dog. We are expecting an inundation of hundreds of animals who have been burned, lost during the evacuation process and those in need of critical care due to smoke inhalation. We need the kennel space to be able to house these animals in hopes of reuniting them with their Ohana’s once this is all over,” the society added.
They also asked for donations of pet food, pop-up kennels and litter, as well as help in communicating with the community.
With our population over capacity before this tragedy, we are running extremely low on space, supplies and fosters. As we are experiencing tragedy or…
The Maui Humane Society asks that those donating food or equipment can drop them off at the shelter, or purchase them on their Amazon Wishlist. Direct donations can be given on their website.
This comes as the death toll of the wildfires—which are thought to have burned over 271 structures in the community across at least 1,000 acres—has been announced as 36 so far, all of which were in the historic town of Lahaina.
Over 11,000 people have been evacuated from Maui so far, with thousands more expected to be flown off the island in the coming days. Around 2,100 people were housed across four emergency shelters across the island on Tuesday night, and several hundred have camped out at the airport.
Passengers waiting to board flights off the island as thousands of passengers were stranded at the Kahului Airport (OGG) in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui in Kahului, Hawaii on August 9, 2023. The death toll from a wildfire that turned a historic Hawaiian town to ashes has risen to 36 people, officials said on August 9. Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images
Mahina Martin, chief of communications and public affairs for the island of Maui, told Newsweek via phone on Wednesday morning that three fires remain active across the island.
“None of them are contained,” Martin said. “The magnitude of the fires and the fast moving swiftness of the fires have caused evacuations in all three areas throughout yesterday and overnight.”
Lahaina, or Lāhainā, a town that was once capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii, has been worst impacted by the blazes, with much of the town catching fire. The fires were so severe that many residents were driven to jump into the harbor to escape the flames and smoke, with 14 people being reportedly rescued by the Coast Guard.
For those who are not on Maui, it’s hard to imagine the devastation.
Longtime resident, Emerson Timmins who saw the disaster in Lahaina joined KHON2 News for an interview: pic.twitter.com/POeeZDgiNd — KHON2 News (@KHONnews) August 10, 2023
Over 150,000 gallons of water has been used to fight the blazes so far, Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara, who is leading the military response, told a news conference on Thursday night.
“The primary focus is to save lives, and then to prevent human suffering, and then to mitigate great property loss,” Hara said.
The fire-fighting effort has been massively hindered by the strong winds, which have both fanned the flames and made it harder for helicopters to be used to dump water on the fires. These winds are a result of Hurricane Dora—Category 4 as of Wednesday morning—which passed the archipelago around 500 miles to the south, but still resulted in wind speeds topping 85 miles per hour on Maui and other islands, according to the National Weather Service.
Leeward areas of the state will remain under a Red Flag Warning through tonight. Stay updated with our watches, warnings, and advisories at https://t.co/ZtuCL9tVrL.
The wildfires on Maui were captured on satellite imagery as shown here. pic.twitter.com/ix1MR58DHS — NWSHonolulu (@NWSHonolulu) August 10, 2023
Thankfully, the winds are expected to drop as the storm moves away from Hawaii.
“What happened in western Maui is devastating. It’s really, really sad and our prayers go out the families. But I also want people know who are traveling to Hawaii and who are already here, the rest of Hawaii is open,” Jimmy Tokioka, director of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, told a news conference on Thursday.
Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about wildfires? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.
