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walk us through what they're looking at today. >> reporter: now they're going into more of a typical tradewind pattern. we don't have those 50, 60-mile-per-hour winds out of the northeast, but the problem here is they want rain. we need water to help douse some of the flames. the winds are coming at more of a northeasterly direction. up and over the mountain ranges, and the windward side will see the rain today, but on the leeward side, where luhina is located, unfortunately, we anticipate the forecast to stay dry. so any hot spots are going to have a bit of a difficulty actually starting to see any of that relief from the rainfall. as i advance this graphic, you'll see on and off again showers. there's some accumulation, especially in the higher elevations, but really on the eastern facing slopes of maui and into the island of hawaii. this is being exacerbated by the ongoing drought. new information to cnn, the drought monitor, we just got this within the past 30 minutes or so. this is actually increased across the entire state. yesterday when we were reporting
to the ground. >> reporter: decimating homes and businesses. >> local people have lost everything. they have lost their house, they have lost their animals, and it's devastating. >> it is on fire. >> reporter: the historic town of luhina, a popular tourist and economic hub on the island's west side particularly affected with hundreds of structures impacted. >> it happened so fast. people stuck in traffic, trying to get out, and there's flames on both sides of the road. something out of a horror movie. >> most of the fires on maui fueled in part by violent winds caused by hurricane dora, churning more than 800 miles away, the winds now subsiding as the storm pushes away. >> the primary focus is to save lives and to prevent human suffering and mitigate great property loss. >> reporter: state department crews assisting in efforts to restore communication across the
is not over. at least 36 people are confirmed dead now, and many people, many more unaccounted for as the wildfires continue to rip through maui. the videos coming out show what looks like just an in inscapable inferno playing out. one man said he and everyone he knows and loves are now homeless as their homes are ash. iconic landmarks have been destroyed. businesses and livelihoods brought to the ground in what has seemed like seconds. the fires fueled by high winds. they're still burning out of control at this hour. crews from it surrounding islands are coming in to maui to help. and today, the u.s. army is planning to begin search and rescue efforts. last night, state officials gave an update of what their top priorities are right now. listen to this. >> the primary focus is to save lives. and to prevent human suffering and mitigate great property
and so people applying for the first time unemployment is rising ark and not where the fed wants to see it. they want above 300,000, and they will decide whether to raise the or not. >> thank you for the clarity. john? >> i think that vanessa brings a lot of clarity. wildfires are decimating maui, and there are still people unaccounted for. we are getting new information on the rescue efforts. stay with us. by this champ. anand this future champ. and if we proffer itit, we know you'll proffer it too. he's cocky for a nineneteen year old.
islands and distribute water. with military helicopters aiding in extinguishing the fires. >> they flew 13 hours, did 58 drops and about 150,000 gallons of water to assist with suppression of the fire. >> reporter: recovery will be a long road ahead, according to hawaii's lieutenant governor. >> the damage to the infrastructure, it's not just buildings. i mean, these were small businesses that invested in maui. these were local residents, and you know, we need to figure out a way to help a lot of people in the next several years. >> reporter: 11,000 people were flown off of the island yesterday. another 1500 people are expected to fly out today. airlines are reducing their fares. they're increasing their flights to get people off of the island. officials are asking people also to cancel their flights, to cancel their vacations here.
anything but essential travel does not go to maui. we'll welcome visitors back to paradise after the fire is done. >> all right, pete muntean is with us now. pete, give us a sense of the travel situation there. >> reporter: you know, the real challenge now, john, is getting people off the island and evacuated. the airport is the main airport on maui. it's about 15 miles from luhina, and it is really the epicenter right now. airlines are adding flights. this is the latest from hawaii airlines. they added four flights today after adding nine flights yesterday. in some cases, airlines are doing something called upgauging, meaning swapping out smaller planes that would typically be on a route with larger planes to get more people and more seats headed off the island. in fact, hawaiian airlines has even started adding $19 fares to try and incentivize people to leave. the big question now is how to deal with people coming in. you mentioned united and american airlines have canceled
thing. those who have shown aloha by heeding our call to leave the island at this time, you know, we're thankful here at this assistance center to be able to reciprocate that and take care of folks on their journey home. >> what's your message to people maybe on the mainland who are trying to reach family or loved ones who could be traveling in maui? >> the american red cross does a great job managing shelters. you can call 1-800-red-cross if you're trying to get in touch with someone. also our state emergency management website, ready.hawaii.gov has a butch of resources for people looking for people, folks wishing to help in some way, or keeping up with the latest. >> when do you want tourists back on maui? >> you know, it's important to note that the impacted area is west maui, including the resort
their flights on to the island. that's a big deal because some of those flights are nonstops from places as far away as chicago, denver, l.a.x. the head of transportation at hawaii, his name is ed sniffen. he says that right now, the best thing that's happening is that airlines are waiving their fees. meaning that if you had a trip to hawaii, to maui, you can change your trip free of charge. no change fees on pretty much every major airline that flies to maui. he says, i want you to listen now, it is helping people although the island will be open for business again soon, he insists. >> we really appreciate what the airlines have done. we look at the transpacific flights, alaska, delta, united, and american have increased capacity by bringing in larging planes to insure we get more seats to get more people off the island. southwest has dropped their fares and increased their
few miles. how surprised are the people coming to you? how surprised have the tourist been about what took place on maui? >> sure. to paint a picture first. the island of maui has about 150, 160,000 residents. on an average day, 70,000 visitors. so the visitor presence is really pronounced on the island of maui. in a disaster like this, there's certainly priority placed on making sure visitors know what's happening, where they need to be, what they need to do. understanding that, like you said, sometimes folks unplug and relax. so there have been lots of efforts made reaching out through our hospitality industry to lodging accommodations, transportation companies, all of that. trying to get folks where they need to be. we did make a call out for visitors who don't need to be on maui to leave at this time. and you know, we talk about aloha, and it's a reciprocal
areas of luhina, there are other parts of maui, less affected. if folks have travel plans in the coming weeks, they should check with their accommodations to see what the situation is. on the other islands, the island of hawaii had some impact from brush fires, but certainly check with your lodging provider, if you have a trip planned in the next couple weeks. for the rest of the islands of oahu, kauai, they're here, ready to welcome folks. so if in doubt, check it out. >> all right, thank you so much for being with us. best of luck. get some sleep if you can. >> kate. coming up for us, two of donald trump's co-defendants are set to enter pleas on new charges in the classified documents case. we're going to take you live to the courthouse in florida. plus, fbi agents shoot and