An aerial view shows the historic Banyan Tree along with destroyed homes, boats, and buildings burned to the ground in the historic Lahaina town in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui in Lahaina, Hawaii, on August 10, 2023. (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images) An aerial image taken on August 10, 2023 shows destroyed homes and buildings on the waterfront burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii. (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images) An aerial image taken on August 10, 2023 shows destroyed homes and buildings burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii. (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images) An aerial image taken on August 10, 2023 shows destroyed homes and buildings burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii. (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images) An aerial image taken on August 10, 2023 shows a person walking down Front Street past destroyed buildings burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii. (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images) An aerial image taken on August 10, 2023 shows destroyed homes and buildings burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii. (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images) An aerial image shows a burned building in the historic Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui in Lahaina, Hawaii, on August 10, 2023. (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images) An aerial image taken on August 10, 2023 shows destroyed homes and buildings burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii. (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images) An aerial view shows destruction caused by a wildfire in Lahaina, on the Hawaiian island of Maui, on August 10, 2023. At least 36 people have died after a fast-moving wildfire turned Lahaina to ashes. (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images) An aerial view shows destroyed homes and buildings that burned to the ground around the harbor and Front Street in the historic Lahaina Town in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui in Lahaina, Hawaii, on August 10, 2023. (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images) The search of the wildfire wreckage on the Hawaiian island of Maui on Thursday revealed a wasteland of burned out homes and obliterated communities as firefighters battled the stubborn blaze that has already claimed 36 lives, making it the deadliest in the U.S. in five years.
Aerial footage showed whole sections of the historic town of Lahaina had been reduced to gray ash, including on Front Street, where tourists shopped and dined just days ago. Smoking heaps of rubble lay piled high next to the waterfront in the town, which dates to the 1700s and is the biggest community on the island's west side. Homes and shops were stripped to their frames or less, boats in the harbor were scorched, and smoke hovered over the leafless skeletons of charred trees.
Fueled by a dry summer and strong winds from a passing hurricane, the fire started Tuesday and took Maui by surprise, racing through parched growth covering the island.
FULL STORY: At least 36 killed on Maui as fires burn through Hawaii; thousands race to escape