Maui officials sound emergency sirens and evacuate residents as wildfire threatens north shore town

HONOLULU — Officials on the Hawaiian island of Maui went door-to-door evacuating residents from a wildfire Tuesday and sounded emergency sirens.

The 4-acre (1.6-hectare) fire was first reported near the north shore town of Paia at 1:30 p.m., officials said. There were no containment estimates immediately available.

“Leave immediately!” said one alert from Maui Emergency Management Agency. “There is a dangerous threat to life and property.”

Paia is a former sugar plantation town that has become popular with windsurfers. It is on the other side of the island from Lahaina, which was destroyed by a deadly wildfire in 2023.

Paia resident Rod Antone was trying to coordinate evacuation of his elderly parents. “It's nerve-wracking,” he said. “Hopefully nothing happens to the neighborhood.”

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