Hawaii Wing Responds to Catastrophic Maui Fires

The Hawaii Wing has conducted two flights capturing photos and videos of the extensive damage caused by the Maui brush fires while also documenting and providing detailed information for impact assessment and search and rescue operations at various locations on the island.

After brush fires fueled by strong winds broke out in Maui County, displacing residents and visitors, the governor's office tasked the Hawaii Wing with the mission.

Capt. Darryl Ng, mission pilot, took off from Kahului Airport at 9:30 a.m. Aug. 8 in a Civil Air Patrol plane with 1st Lt. Edward Taomoto, mission observer, and senior member Oren Bendayan, aerial photographer. The three Maui Composite Squadron members flew over the hot zones of Pulehu/Kihei and Lahaina for four hours, providing critical information to ground team members.

At 12:54 p.m., 1st Lt. John Bassett, mission pilot, and 2nd Lt. Jason Dzurizin, mission observer, flew out of Hilo International Airport to expand coverage for a larger area of Kihei threatened by the fires. The two belong to the Lyman Field Composite Squadron.

Data is being processed for officials from the Hawaii Emergency Management and the Maui Emergency Management Agencies to analyze the affected areas.
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2nd Lt. Janel Fujinaka
Public Affairs Officer
Hawaii Wing