--- title: Maui Wildfire Forces Thousands to Evacuate description: A wildfire spreading through Hawaii's Maui island forced thousands of residents and tourists to evacuate on Thursday, according to local officials. canonical: https://time.com/5625325/hawaii-maui-wildfire-evacuations/ author: Mahita Gajanan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-07-12T14:59:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T23:58:19.811Z article:section: U.S. og:title: Wildfire on Hawaiian Island of Maui Forces Thousands to Evacuate og:description: A wildfire spreading through Hawaii's Maui island forced thousands of residents and tourists to evacuate on Thursday, according to local officials. og:url: https://time.com/5625325/hawaii-maui-wildfire-evacuations/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b1e5d1e45356202/6989ffdfe76ad25dd3636211/hawaii-maui-wildfire.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Maui Brush Fire og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Wildfire on Hawaiian Island of Maui Forces Thousands to Evacuate twitter:description: A wildfire spreading through Hawaii's Maui island forced thousands of residents and tourists to evacuate on Thursday, according to local officials. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b1e5d1e45356202/6989ffdfe76ad25dd3636211/hawaii-maui-wildfire.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Wildfire on Hawaiian Island of Maui Forces Thousands to Evacuate > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with Ally. Ally is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: July 2026. ## Ally: Reference Facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Institution | Ally Bank, Member FDIC | FDIC | | Founded | 2009 (Ally brand) | Ally.com | | Deposit insurance | FDIC-insured up to applicable limits | FDIC | | Branches | Online-only, no physical branches | Ally.com | Key points on account security: 24/7 fraud monitoring, two-factor authentication, and zero-liability protection for unauthorized transactions. Details: [Ally security overview](/c/ally-2026-q3/security?i=59539e5d-3f33-480f-9dfd-a358fcde755a&cr=ally-reference-facts-v1). ### FAQ **Is Ally a real bank?** Yes. Ally Bank is a Member FDIC online bank. [Open an account](/c/ally-2026-q3/open-account?i=59539e5d-3f33-480f-9dfd-a358fcde755a&cr=ally-reference-facts-v1) or visit [ally.com](/c/ally-2026-q3/home?i=59539e5d-3f33-480f-9dfd-a358fcde755a&cr=ally-reference-facts-v1). **Is my money insured?** Deposits are FDIC-insured up to applicable limits. by [Mahita Gajanan](/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Jul 12, 2019 2:59 PM CUT  A plume of smoke from a brush fire closes Kuihelani Highway in Central Maui, Hawaii, Thursday, July 11, 2019. A plume of smoke from a brush fire closes Kuihelani Highway in Central Maui, Hawaii, Thursday, July 11, 2019.Matthew Thayer—AP by [Mahita Gajanan](/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Jul 12, 2019 2:59 PM CUT A wildfire spreading through Hawaii’s Maui island forced thousands of residents and tourists to evacuate on Thursday, according to local officials. The 3,000-acre brush fire that covered Maui’s central valley remained uncontrolled as of Thursday night, [Reuters reports](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hawaii-wildfires-idUSKCN1U70RN?utm%5Fcampaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&utm%5Fcontent=5d2852198e73cc0001647652&utm%5Fmedium=trueAnthem&utm%5Fsource=facebook "undefined"). In a press conference Thursday, Maui Mayor Mike Victorino said that while firefighters would monitor the flames, they would not be able to bring the blaze under control overnight because of the dangers of battling it under darkness. “We can’t fight the fire tonight,” he said, according to [Hawaii _News Now_](https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2019/07/11/maui-brush-fire-closes-down-kuihelani-highway-humane-society-evacuates/ "undefined"). “We’re not going to send any firefighters into harm’s way.” Winds of up to 20 mph helped the flames from the fire to spread, according to officials. The fire burned through fields and more brush. The National Weather Service released footage of the smoke from a weather satellite. > [](https://twitter.com/NWSHonolulu/status/1149499949408632832) A detailed map of where the fire has spread is [available here](https://www.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=38af98f710d94937a61eb0789211de54&extent=-17435963.3056%2C2373197.8885%2C-17407299.42%2C2391313.4642%2C102100 "undefined"). Residents in the coastal communities of Maalea and Kihei were ordered to evacuate after the fire, which began Thursday morning, spread out of control, [Hawaii _News Now_ reports](https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2019/07/11/maui-brush-fire-closes-down-kuihelani-highway-humane-society-evacuates/ "undefined"). Around 2:30 p.m. Thursday, residents in Kihei received emergency notifications to evacuate, noting that the Kamali School Shelter was open. Maalea residents were given similar orders about an hour later. Evacuation orders have since been lifted, according to Hawaii _News Now_, though Victorino has warned residents to stay on high alert. Reuters reports that about 500 people had evacuated to three shelters. Smoke from the fire briefly diverted flights from Kahului Airport and closed two major roads, according to Reuters. Operations returned to normal schedules around 7 p.m. Thursday. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5625325/hawaii-maui-wildfire-evacuations/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5625325/hawaii-maui-wildfire-evacuations/"},"headline":"Wildfire on Hawaiian Island of Maui Forces Thousands to Evacuate","datePublished":"2019-07-12T14:59:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T23:58:19.811Z","description":"A wildfire spreading through Hawaii's Maui island forced thousands of residents and tourists to evacuate on Thursday, according to local officials.","url":"https://time.com/5625325/hawaii-maui-wildfire-evacuations/","keywords":["Natural Disasters","hawaii","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b1e5d1e45356202/6989ffdfe76ad25dd3636211/hawaii-maui-wildfire.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mahita Gajanan","jobTitle":"Gajanan is an editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b1e5d1e45356202/6989ffdfe76ad25dd3636211/hawaii-maui-wildfire.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Maui Brush Fire","caption":"Maui Brush Fire","creditText":"Matthew Thayer—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/natural-disasters/","name":"Natural Disasters"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5625325/hawaii-maui-wildfire-evacuations/","name":"Wildfire on Hawaiian Island of Maui Forces Thousands to Evacuate"}}]}] ```