‘Ash and debris’: Journalist covering Maui fires surveys destruction of once-vibrant Hawaii town

By TY O’NEIL
Associated Press

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — A Las Vegas-based video journalist for The Associated Press dispatched to cover devastating wind-fueled wildfires in Hawaii says the scene over Maui was one of the worst he’s seen in more than eight years of covering the disasters. The Lahaina area is normally a vibrant vision of color of plants and island life. Ty O’Neil says a helicopter flyover Thursday showed communities reduced to gray. O’Neil says street after street is nothing but rubble and foundation. Ash and debris have left the area looking colorless and one-dimensional. Vehicles charred on a roadway have left a grim clue of harrowing escape.