From CNN:
"Hospitals overwhelmed and communications systems down in some Maui areas, lieutenant governor says
From CNN’s Chris Boyette
The hospitals on the island of Maui are overwhelmed with burn patients and people suffering from smoke inhalation, Hawaii’s Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke told CNN, adding that caring for those injured in the wildfires has been hampered by the difficulty of transporting patients to other facilities,
“We are already in communication with other hospital systems about relieving the burden — the reality is that we need to fly people out of Maui to give them burn support because Maui hospital cannot do extensive burn treatment,” Luke said. “In addition to dealing with disaster, we're dealing with major transportation issues as well.”
Authorities are also struggling to communicate with areas cut off by the wildfires and coordinate evacuations, Luke said.
“911 is down. Cell service is down. Phone service is down. That's been part of the problem. The Maui County has not been able to communicate with residents on the west side, the Lahaina side,” Luke said.
Satellite phones have been the only reliable way to get in touch with some people, including those in hotels, she added.
“What we are trying to do is deploy individuals to go into areas with satellite phone service. We have only been in contact with perhaps one hotel because the one hotel, the people in charge of that hotel have satellite phones,” Luke said. “That's the only way you can make connection. It's impeding communication. It’s impeding efforts to evacuate residents and we are very concerned about that.”
State officials are working with the hotels and a local airline to evacuate tourists to another island, the lieutenant governor said.
