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BBC OS Conversations: The fires in Hawaii

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The fires in Hawaii

18/08/2023 GMT

BBC World Service - BBC OS Conversations, The fires in Hawaii

Losing the family home and volunteers respond to the disaster

Losing the family home and volunteers respond to the disaster.

It is the deadliest wildfire in the United States in more than a century. On the Hawaiian island of Maui, block after block of the seaside town of Lahaina lies in ruins. Only the twisted wreckage of buildings and charred vegetation remain among the ashes.

More than 100 people have been killed. For thousands who escaped the flames, they lost most of their possessions and are now sheltering with family, friends or in hotels and community centres. Meanwhile, searches continue for the hundreds of people who are still missing. 

As so often happens when there is a disaster, local people have been pulling together to help with essential aid, food and medical supplies. Host James Reynolds is joined by Ella, who lost her family home in the fires. She speaks with two volunteers, Uilani and Alison. They live on a neighbouring island, The Big Island, and are helping with the recovery effort. The three share their stories, their offers of support and comfort. 

“The feeling of losing everything you have with just the clothes on your back, that’s devastating,” Ella says. “We’re doing everything we can to help them out.”

A Boffin Media production in partnership with the BBC OS team.

(Photo: Lahaina wildfire aftermath in Hawaii, USA, 15 Aug 2023. Credit: Etienne Laurent/EPA)

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