The island of Maui, which forms part of the State of Hawaiʻi, has been devastated by a series of wildfires in recent days. Driven by the perform storm of high-pressure areas and Hurricane Dora, high winds have blown the fires across the island. Hundreds have been evacuated and millions of dollars of property have been destroyed. Elsewhere, at least 55 people have died in the town of Lāhainā. Furthermore, smaller and since-contained fires broke out on the islands of Hawai'i and O'ahu.
In response, Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke declared a state of emergency. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden stated he was diverting "all available federal resources" to Hawaii. The fires have been attributed to the spread of invasive grass species like Guinea Grass and a prolonged period of hotter, drier weather. Additionally, recent US National Climate Assessments show that the state has received less rainfall. This is consistent with projections about the impact of anthropogenic climate change. However, the specific cause of these wildfires is as yet unknown. Despite this, federal agencies are not the only people helping out. Legendary boxer Floyd Mayweather has also been providing aid to those affected.
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Mayweather Helps 68 Families
Per a report from TMZ, Mayweather has personally paid for 68 families to fly from Maui to Honolulu in recent days. He has also covered hotel tabs for the families, as well as providing food tabs and clothing hauls while they recover from the tragedy. He is reportedly working with the clothing retailer H&M to achieve the latter of those goals. Mayweather declined to comment when approached by TMZ. While he confirmed the report, he stated that he was not looking to garner additional attention.
However, Mayweather has only been able to help a fraction of the people affected by the fires. 2100 people are estimated to be sheltering on Maui. Among those who have been evacuated was London Bree. The mayor of San Francisco was vacationing in Maui at the time of the wildfires. Additionally, a travel advisory has been put in place, asking all non-essential travelers to avoid coming to Maui at this time. Hawaii Airlines has announced that flights will be rescheduled at no additional cost.
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