Residents of Lahaina, Hawaii, were recently allowed to return to their homes to recover what they could after wildfires burned across western Maui last week, killing at least 96 people. The historic town was overtaken by a swift-moving wildfire, which destroyed almost all of its buildings. More than 1,000 people remain missing as teams continue to search house to house and fire crews work to contain the last of the fires. Gathered below, images of the early recovery work, and the community of volunteers who are mobilizing to help those in need.
Lahaina, After the Fire
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![A woman cradles her cat after finding him in the aftermath of a wildfire.]()
Read moreA woman cradles her cat after finding him in the aftermath of a wildfire in Lahaina, western Maui, Hawaii, on August 11, 2023. #
Moses Slovatizki / AFP / Getty -
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![Burned cars sit on an oceanside road alongside destroyed buildings.]()
Read moreBurned cars sit on a road alongside destroyed buildings after a wildfire burned through Lahaina, on August 11, 2023. #
Paula Ramon / AFP / Getty -
![People pick through ashes and rubble in a burned neighborhood.]()
Read moreDavilynn Severson (left) and Hano Ganer search for their belongings in the ashes of their family's burned home in Lahaina on August 11, 2023. #
Patrick T. Fallon / AFP / Getty -
![A person wearing a military uniform and a hard hat spray-paints a symbol on the back of a burned pickup truck.]()
Read moreMembers of the Hawaii National Guard assist Maui County and state officials in search-and-recovery efforts after a wildfire devastated the historic town of Lahaina, on August 10, 2023. #
Master Sergeant Andrew Jackson / U.S. National Guard / Reuters -
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![A person squats on a thick horizontal branch of a burned tree.]()
Read moreA man sits on the historic Lahaina banyan tree, damaged by a wildfire, on August 11, 2023. #
Rick Bowmer / AP -
![An aerial photo of a fire-destroyed historic structure.]()
Read moreAn aerial photo of the destroyed Old Lahaina Courthouse building, which had housed a museum, an art gallery, a gift shop, and a visitor center, seen in Lahaina on August 11, 2023 #
Sebastien Vuagnat / AFP / Getty -
![People sit in rows of chairs inside a coffee shop.]()
Read moreSurvivors and churchgoers gather for a Sunday service held by Pastor Arza Brown of Lahaina's Grace Baptist Church at Maui Coffee Attic in Wailuku, central Maui, on August 13, 2023. In 60 years of ministry, Pastor Brown had never said Mass in sandals. But he had no choice this Sunday, after the raging wildfire that decimated a community in Hawaii left him with nothing but his faith and the clothes on his body. The Baptist church where Brown ministered for five decades was reduced to ashes, as was his house, from which he managed to escape with his wife. A member of his congregation opened the doors of his coffee shop to gather the community of this church in Lahaina, which is trying to process the tragedy. #
Yuki Iwamura / AFP / Getty -
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![Volunteers form a brigade to load cases of drinking water along a dock onto a small boat.]()
Read moreVolunteers load water onto a boat to be transported to West Maui from the Kihei boat landing on August 13, 2023, in Kihei, Hawaii. #
Justin Sullivan / Getty -
![Several people unload boxes onto a beach from a small boat.]()
Read moreMercy Worldwide volunteers unload supplies for West Maui towns affected by wildfires at Black Rock Beach in Lahaina on August 12, 2023. #
Yuki Iwamura / AFP / Getty -
![Volunteers sort out donations in a parking lot.]()
Read moreVolunteers sort out donations for distribution in a parking lot in Lahaina on August 12, 2023. #
Yuki Iwamura / AFP / Getty -
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![A completely burned sightseeing boat floats in water.]()
Read moreA destroyed boat floats off Lahaina Small Boat Harbor on August 10, 2023. #
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources / Reuters -
![People walk along a street past wildfire damage.]()
Read morePeople walk along Main Street past wildfire damage on August 11, 2023, in Lahaina. #
Rick Bowmer / AP -
![A man stands beside a bicycle among many burned cars and buildings.]()
Read moreA man walks through wildfire wreckage in Lahaina on August 11, 2023. #
Rick Bowmer / AP -
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![A "Tourist Keep Out" sign is displayed in a neighborhood.]()
Read moreA sign is displayed in a neighborhood on August 13, 2023, in Lahaina. #
Rick Bowmer / AP -
![A person walks through the rubble of a burned-down house.]()
Read moreSydney Carney walks through her destroyed home in Lahaina on August 11, 2023. #
Rick Bowmer / AP -
![A person holds a burned page from a yearbook.]()
Read moreDavilynn Severson holds a burned page from a yearbook as she looks for belongings in the ashes of her family home in Lahaina on August 11, 2023. #
Patrick T. Fallon / AFP / Getty -
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![The burned remains of a house.]()
Read moreThe burned remains of a house on Lahaina's Front Street, seen on August 12, 2023. A Google Street View image of this same house from 2019 can be seen here. #
Rick Bowmer / AP -
![A scorched coconut tree.]()
Read moreA scorched coconut tree is seen in Lahaina on August 12, 2023. #
Rick Bowmer / AP -
![Two people look toward the distant, still-smoking ruins of a town.]()
Read moreMaui residents John Rey Serrano and Lexie Lara look from a road above Lahaina in the aftermath of the wildfire, on August 11, 2023. #
Patrick T. Fallon / AFP / Getty -
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![Fire-destroyed homes and cars.]()
Read moreDestroyed homes and cars are seen in Lahaina on August 13, 2023. #
Rick Bowmer / AP -
![Three people embrace, standing amid the rubble of a burned house.]()
Read moreWomen hug after digging through the rubble of a home destroyed by the wildfire, on August 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. #
Rick Bowmer / AP
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