Fear and confusion mark key moments of Lahaina residents’ 911 calls during deadly wildfire

By CLAIRE RUSH and LISA BAUMANN
Associated Press

Maui County officials released two hours of audio of 911 calls to The Associated Press that were recorded as frantic residents tried to escape the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century. The inferno that engulfed Lahaina killed at least 98 people and leveled more than 2,000 buildings, most of them homes. Summaries of some of the more than 200 calls with 911 dispatchers recorded between 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 8 show the terror, confusion and panic as residents tried to find out what was going on, asked for help escaping the flames or got trapped in their cars.