Is it safe to travel to Hawaii?

Devastating wildfires on the island of Maui, Hawaii, have left at least 55 people dead and neighbourhoods in ruins. The fast-moving inferno has destroyed the resort town of Lahaina, which the state’s governor said attracts two million tourists each year – equivalent to 80 per cent of the island’s visitors.

There have so far been three major wildfires on Maui, fuelled by dry conditions and strong winds, and thousands of tourists and locals have been evacuated from the affected areas. It is already Hawaii’s deadliest natural disaster since a tsunami killed 61 people in 1960. There are also fires on some of the state’s other islands, though these are not as severe.

The scenes come after a summer of record-breaking temperatures and fires across the world. Thousands of people were evacuated from Greece, Spain and Portugal as southern Europe battled wildfires, and a series of fires in western Canada sent clouds of smoke over vast portions of the US.

If you’re booked to travel to Hawaii, you might be asking: is it safe to go? Here’s what we know so far, including the latest government travel advice.

Where are the fires?

There have been blazes on the islands of Maui as well as Hawaii, known as the Big Island. The worst conditions are in the west of Maui, in the town Lahaina, but other fires are in Kihei and Kula. Due to the emergency, electricity shortages have been reported, and mobile phone service is unreliable.

Many of those evacuated have been taking shelter in safer parts of Maui or on the neighbouring island of Oahu, reports Reuters, with tourists camping out in Kahului Airport, Maui’s main airport, as they wait for flights to take them home. On X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, the Hawaii Department of Transportation confirmed that Kahului Airport was open but asked people to “please be patient” while “all airlines are sending additional support to aid in getting people off island”.

People waiting for flights crowd into Kahului Airport

(AP)

Big Island’s ongoing fires are centred around the north, including Mauna Kea, North and South Kohala, and Waimea. Some parts of the Kohala Coast were evacuated this week but mandatory instructions to leave the area have been lifted.