Hawaii governor declares emergency for Maui wildfires

Hawaii's governor on Friday declared an emergency on the island of Maui, where firefighters were battling a blaze that forced the evacuations of thousands of people and sent huge clouds of smoke billowing over nearby beaches. Although most of the evacuees were later allowed to return home, the blaze more than tripled in size to spread over about 9,000 acres (3,642 hectares), scorching mostly former sugarcane fields and brush. "I am declaring our Valley Isle a disaster area for the purpose of implementing the emergency management functions as allowed by law," Governor David Ige said in a statement.

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