HAWAII WILDFIRES KILL AT LEAST 99 Devastation in Paradise

A RAGING INFERNO SUPERCHARGED BY 80-MPH WINDS BECOMES THE NATION'S DEADLIEST WILDFIRE IN 100 YEARS, DESTROYING MAUI'S HISTORIC TOWN OF LAHAINA. NOW HEROES AND SURVIVORS SHARE THEIR HEARTBREAKING STORIES

- JOHNNY DODD, WENDY GROSSMAN KANTOR, SUSAN KATZ KEATING, CAITLIN KEATING, SUSAN YOUNG

It took only minutes for the picturesque landscape and swaying palm trees in the idyllic seaside Maui town of Lahaina to become a scene of hellish, fiery destruction on Aug. 8. As an unstoppable wall of flames headed her way, Lahaina resident Kelley Chapman tried to warn neighbors. "I was screaming and banging on doors, telling everyone, 'You need to get out. There's a major fire coming," says Chapman, 43, whose home and swimwear store were both burned to the ground. "I just knew that we were all going to lose everything." The blaze-which at press time had killed 99 locals and tourists, a number expected to rise-was fueled by dry summer conditions and winds generated from Hurricane Dora, located hundreds of miles south. More than 1,000 structures and numerous boats in Lahaina (pop. 13,000) were reduced to ash as the firestorm ravaged the community, forcing some to jump into the water to escape. "None of it's there," Maui County mayor Richard Bissen said of the town at a press conference. "It's all gone."

The days ahead will be especially difficult for locals many of whom are frustrated that the island's emergency warning system failed to alert them-as officials search for the missing, identify the dead and investigate the fire's cause. "We're still in shock," says Chapman. "It happened so fast." Here, in their own words, survivors share stories.

'Cars Were Exploding on the Street' 
ANNELISE COCHRAN, 30, LAHAINA