Wildfires scorch Hawaii, Canada, Spanish island, causing heavy losses

BEIJING: Wildfires that raged in the US state of Hawaii, Canada and a Spanish island have caused heavy losses as firefighters continue to battle the blazes and rescuers search for the deceased and accommodate the displaced.

The death toll from the Maui wildfires in Hawaii reached 114 on Friday, the deadliest fires in modern US history, authorities said. Hawaii Governor Josh Green said Friday that more than 2,200 buildings have been destroyed and another 500 have been damaged, at an estimated cost of nearly 6 billion US dollars, Xinhua news agency reported. "But far more devastating than any material loss is the loss of precious lives – of mothers, fathers, grandparents, sons, and daughters – lives that can never be replaced," he said.

Green said there are now 470 search and rescue workers and 40 search dogs combing through hundreds of burned buildings, and they have already completed searching more than 60 percent of the disaster area. The governor said the death toll is expected to rise as the search continues.

The Maui County Emergency Management Agency, which is responsible for sounding the sirens, faced intense criticism because it didn't activate the system before the disaster. The agency's head, Herman Andaya, resigned on Thursday.

US President Joe Biden will travel to Maui on Monday to meet with first responders, survivors, as well as federal, state and local officials, said the White House in a statement earlier this week. Meanwhile, wildfires also wreaked havoc in other parts of the United States.

On the other hand, Hurricane Hilary is barreling toward southern California, putting the storm on a collision course with several wildfires burning in the Golden State. In Europe, heat waves as a result of global warming also sparked wildfires in the Spanish holiday island of Tenerife. Over 4,500 people were evacuated on Saturday in the northeast of Tenerife as the wildfire has taken on an unprecedented dimension in the Canary Islands. IANS

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