L.A. County search-and-rescue team with K-9s heads to Maui to scour Lahaina buildings
A Los Angeles County Fire Department urban search-and-rescue team with three K-9s was dispatched Sunday to Maui to assist in rescue efforts in the wake of the island’s devastating wildfire.
The fire, which broke out last week in the historic community of Lahaina, has killed at least 93 people, with more than 1,000 people unaccounted for.
Many buildings in Lahaina have yet to be searched. More than 2,000 structures, mostly residences, have been reported damaged or destroyed.
On Saturday, California Task Force 2 — made up of Capt. Celina Serrano and K-9 Prentiss, firefighter-paramedic Edward Ruiz and K-9 Harper, and firefighter-paramedic Nicholas Bartel and K-9 Six — departed for the island from Los Angeles International Airport. The Federal Emergency Management Agency task force is based in L.A. County and sponsored by the Fire Department.
As people flooded a main road out of West Maui, the inferno caught up. A resident who managed to escape with his family says he will never forget what he saw.
“The LACoFD sends our heartfelt condolences and prayers to the families who have lost loved ones; to the injured; and to all who have been displaced, lost homes and businesses due to the wildfires that have ravaged the beautiful island of Maui,” L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said in a statement. “We send our Maui ohana strength and our support during this difficult time.”
Earlier this year, L.A. County Fire Department urban search-and-rescue team members were dispatched to Turkey after a magnitude-7.8 earthquake ravaged the country.
The Maui wildfire is now the deadliest in the U.S. in the last 100 years. The next deadliest is the 2018 Camp fire, which killed 85 people and destroyed the city of Paradise in Northern California.
The Lahaina fire was first reported Tuesday morning and was quickly declared contained by fire officials.
But the blaze flared up that afternoon and roared through Lahaina, leaving a swath of devastation in its wake.
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