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☆ Police in Illinois Hunt for a Suspect in Fatal Shootings of 8
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Livia Albeck-Ripka | More About Livia Albeck-Ripka | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The police in Joliet, Ill., were searching on Monday for a suspect in the fatal shooting of eight people, seven of whom were found dead in two homes on the same block on the city’s east side, the authorities said. The suspect, Romeo Nance, 23, was believed to be driving a red Toyota Camry, and “should be regarded as armed and dangerous,” the Joliet Police Department said in a statement posted to Facebook. The authorities said that they had discovered seven of the bodies — two in one home, and five in another — on Monday, and that they believed that a fatal shooting on Sunday afternoon about four miles southeast was connected. The police were notified of the seven bodies by the Will County Sheriff’s Office just after 12 p.m. Monday, Chief William Evans of the Joliet Police Department said at a news conference on Monday evening. The motive for the killings was unclear, but the police believe that Mr. Nance knew the victims, who appeared to have been related to one another, Chief Evans said.

Persons: Romeo Nance, William Evans, Nance, Evans Organizations: Toyota, Joliet Police Department, Facebook, Joliet Police Locations: Joliet , Ill, Joliet, Will

Three Tacoma police officers who were acquitted in the death of Manuel Ellis, a Black man who died in police custody in 2020 after pleading that he could not breathe, will each receive $500,000 for resigning from the Tacoma Police Department, according to documents released by the city on Tuesday. Two of the officers, Christopher Burbank, 38 and Matthew Collins, 40, both white, were acquitted last month on charges of second-degree murder. On Tuesday, Chief Avery L. Moore of the Tacoma Police Department said in a statement that the three officers had “voluntarily agreed” to resign from their positions. Though Mr. Collins violated the department’s 2020 policy on courtesy, all three men had otherwise been cleared of departmental violations based on policies at the time, Chief Moore said. “I acknowledge the detrimental impact of policing on Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, extending both a personal and collective apology,” he said.

Persons: Manuel Ellis, Christopher Burbank, Matthew Collins, Timothy Rankine, Prosecutors, Ellis, Manny, Avery L, Moore, “, ”, Collins Organizations: Tacoma, Tacoma Police Department Locations: Black

☆ U.S. Navy Works to Salvage Plane From Fragile Hawaiian Bay
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Livia Albeck-Ripka | More About Livia Albeck-Ripka | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

In the crystal-clear waters of Kaneohe Bay, a U.S. Navy patrol aircraft that weighs over 130,000 pounds is stuck atop a fragile reef ecosystem. The P-8A Poseidon plane ended up there after overshooting the runway at a Marine Corps base in Hawaii last month, careening into the water, leaving nine crew members scrambling to safety and the Navy trying to figure out what had gone wrong and how to get it out safely. Underwater footage appeared to show the plane partly afloat, with at least one wheel creating a gouge in the fragile coral. On Friday, the Navy was still working to recover the plane, which it said had returned from flying a routine training mission when it ended up in the water. The crew members were rescued from an inflatable life raft, and none were injured, according to a spokeswoman at the base.

Organizations: U.S . Navy, Marine Corps, Navy Locations: Kaneohe, U.S, Hawaii

☆ Israel-Hamas War Hamas and Israel Open to Extension of Truce
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Isabel Kershner | Vivian Yee | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Medics attended to the victims as police officers secured the scene of the shooting in Burlington. The families of the men identified them in a statement as Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ahmed. Mr. Awartani studies at Brown University, Mr. Abdalhamid at Haverford College in Pennsylvania and Mr. Ahmed at Trinity College in Connecticut. Mr. Ahmed was shot in the chest, and Mr. Abdalhamid had minor injuries, according to a statement from the families of the victims. “Why would anyone shoot kids who were wearing Palestinian kaffiyeh?” Marwan Awartani said in an interview.

Persons: Jason J, Eaton, Eaton’s, Jon Murad, Miro Weinberger, Murad, Hisham Awartani, Kinnan, Tahseen Ahmed, Abdalhamid, Ahmed, Awartani’s, Marwan Awartani, Hisham, Christina H, Paxson, ” Marwan Awartani, Nikolas P, Kerest, Husam Zomlot, Biden, Bernie Sanders, Vermont, ” Livia Albeck, Ripka Organizations: Police, University of Vermont, Burlington, ”, Burlington police, Ramallah Friends School, West Bank, Brown University, Mr, Haverford College, Trinity College in, Palestinian Authority, District of, Justice Department’s Civil, Division, Islamic Relations, Defamation League, Twitter Locations: Burlington, Burlington , Vt, Ramallah, Pennsylvania, Trinity College in Connecticut, U.S, District of Vermont, Israel, Palestinian, United Kingdom, Illinois, Burlington , VT

☆ ‘Timepiece Gentleman’ Swindled Customers Out of $3 Million, U.S. Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Livia Albeck-Ripka | More About Livia Albeck-Ripka | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mr. Farrer then would either not produce the watches or would “send a completely different watch,” according to prosecutors. At the same time, they added, Mr. Farrer kept for himself the proceeds from the watches that he did sell. In one case, Mr. Farrer gave one of his customers a Rolex watch in lieu of the money he owed him. “I’ve lied to my clients. I’ve lied to my friends.

Persons: Farrer, Mr, “ I’ve, ”, I’ve Organizations: Rolex Locations: Texas, Los Angeles

☆ 8 Killed as Human Smuggling Suspect Crashes Into S.U.V., Authorities Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Livia Albeck-Ripka | More About Livia Albeck-Ripka | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Eight people were killed in southwest Texas on Wednesday morning when a driver suspected of human smuggling tried to elude law enforcement officers and slammed head-on into an S.U.V., the Texas Department of Public Safety said. The crash occurred just after 6:30 a.m. on US-57 near Batesville, some 80 miles southwest of San Antonio, the department said in a statement. The driver, a 21-year-old from Houston, was killed, as were the five passengers, some of whom were from Honduras, the department said. The driver and passenger of the S.U.V., both from Georgia, were also killed, according to the authorities, who withheld the names of the dead pending notification of their families. A spokeswoman for the Zavala County Sheriff’s Office declined to provide further information about the crash on Wednesday, noting that the Texas Department of Public Safety had taken over the investigation.

Persons: “ Organizations: Texas Department of Public Safety, Honda, Zavala County Sheriff’s Office, Zavala County Sheriff’s Locations: Texas, Batesville, San Antonio, Zavala County, Houston, Honduras, Georgia

☆ Israel-Hamas War Israel May Oversee Gaza for ‘Indefinite Period’ After War, Netanyahu Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Victoria Kim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Comments by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel appeared to confirm that Israel is preparing to play at least some role in controlling Gaza for a time after fighting ends. Israel will need to oversee the security of the Gaza Strip “for an indefinite period” once the war with Hamas is over, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with ABC News that aired on Monday. Asked who should govern Gaza when the war ends, Mr. Netanyahu responded that he thought Israel would “have the overall security responsibility” over the territory indefinitely. Mr. Netanyahu did not elaborate in the ABC interview on what “overall security responsibility” over Gaza would entail but said, “Those who don’t want to continue the way of Hamas” should be in charge. Israeli officials have publicly said it is premature to discuss governance for Gaza and that they are focused on immediate military objectives.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Netanyahu, “, “ We’ve, ABC’s David Muir, Netanyahu’s, Biden, Antony J, Blinken, ”, it’s, ” Livia Albeck, Ripka Organizations: ABC News, Hamas, Mr, ABC, Military Locations: Israel, Gaza, Tel Aviv, United States

☆ Report of Hit-and-Run at Stanford Prompts Hate Crime Inquiry
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( Livia Albeck-Ripka | More About Livia Albeck-Ripka | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The authorities have opened a hate crime investigation into the report of a hit-and-run on Friday that left an Arab Muslim student injured at Stanford University. hit the student on the campus in Stanford, Calif., just before 2 p.m. A spokeswoman for Stanford University said in an email that campus authorities issued information to the campus community as soon as they had enough details to do so. Columbia recently closed its campus to the public amid tensions between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinians protesters, and Cornell canceled classes last week after antisemitic threats. In the wake of the hit-and-run report, Stanford’s public safety department said that it was deploying additional security at “key locations” on campus.

Persons: “, Richard Saller, Jenny Martinez, Israel Organizations: Stanford University, Calif, Toyota, Stanford, Sheriff’s, California, Patrol, Hamas, Harvard, Israel, Cornell Locations: Arab, Stanford, Santa Clara, Gaza, Israel, Columbia

☆ Hundreds of Shadow Puppets Were Stolen. A Bystander Helped Crack the Case.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Livia Albeck-Ripka | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Inside the U-Haul were nearly 500 handmade shadow puppets and dozens of masks, costumes and backdrops — the culmination of three years of painstaking labor, which, on Sunday evening, came to life in a balletic performance before a crowd of hundreds at a theater in San Francisco. On Monday morning, the puppeteers awoke to find the truck gone. But when hotel employees reviewed the security camera footage, it quickly became clear that the truck had been stolen. “My face dropped — my hands became cold,” Rahmanian said. Then, more than 48 hours later, on Wednesday morning, he received a call: A resident had spotted the truck in the city’s west, and notified the police.

Persons: Hamid Rahmanian, Ferdowsi’s, Rahmanian Locations: San Francisco, Iranian American

Elected officials in Maine reacting to initial reports of the shooting in Lewiston expressed concern about the violence that had visited their community and shared words of sympathy with the friends and relatives of those caught in the shooting. A spokesman for Senator Angus King said that President Biden had reached out to the senator and pledged any federal assistance needed for the state. Janet Mills of Maine said on X that she had been “briefed on the active shooter situation” and urged residents to follow the directions of law enforcement. President Biden was briefed “on what’s known so far about the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, and will continue to receive updates,” the White House said in a statement. Our leaders must act.”Reid J. Epstein , Víctor Manuel Ramos and Ben Shpigel contributed reporting.

Persons: Chellie Pingree, Maine, Angus King, Mr, King, Biden, Susan Collins, ”, we’ve, Collins, Janet Mills, “, Jared Golden, Gabrielle Giffords, ” Reid J, Epstein, Víctor Manuel Ramos, Ben Shpigel Organizations: Gov, Democrat Locations: Maine, Lewiston, Lewiston , Maine, Arizona

A dense “super fog” hovered over New Orleans on Monday, shrouding the area in an impenetrable mist that led to traffic pileups involving dozens of vehicles and leaving at least seven people dead, the authorities said. At least 158 vehicles were involved in a series of crashes, which began just before 9 a.m. on Interstate 55 northwest of New Orleans, the Louisiana State Police said, noting that fog had been a “contributing factor.” An additional 25 people were injured, some of them critically, the police said. After the accidents, which involved vehicles in both the north- and southbound lanes, some of the vehicles caught fire, according to the police. A tanker truck carrying “hazardous liquid” was being removed, the police said, adding that it was possible that “additional fatalities could be located.” The State Police urged anyone with a missing family member to contact the agency. Aerial images posted to the State Police’s Facebook page show several pileups on Interstate 55, including some cars and trucks that appeared to be charred.

Organizations: Louisiana State Police, State Police, State, Facebook Locations: New Orleans

☆ From a Floating Home in Portland to a Hilly Perch in Los Angeles. Which House Was Right?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Livia Albeck-Ripka | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

And they missed their two adult children, who lived nearly 1,000 miles away, in Los Angeles. Email: thehunt@nytimes.com]“It was a little bit terrifying, especially seeing things close in a few days for $100,000 or $200,000 more” than the asking price, said Ms. Banker, 70. But earlier this year, when a friend expressed interest in the floating house, the Bankers took it as a sign and decided to sell. After the parties reached an agreement for the house and the slip on the river, settling at $737,000, the Los Angeles hunt kicked into high gear. “When you think of Los Angeles, most people think, ‘Oh, highways and traffic,’ but it has these darling neighborhoods,” Ms. Banker said.

Persons: Dawn, Gary Banker, Hayden, ”, Banker, Ms, —, Maura Barraza, Barraza Organizations: Bankers, Pinnacle Estate Locations: Portland ,, Columbia, Los Angeles, Echo, Los, Portland

☆ Ancient Arrow Is Among Artifacts to Emerge From Norway’s Melting Ice
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( Livia Albeck-Ripka | More About Livia Albeck-Ripka | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Espen Finstad was trudging through mud in the Jotunheimen mountains of eastern Norway this month when he happened upon a wooden arrow, bound with a pointed tip made of quartzite. Complete with feathers, it was so well-preserved that it looked as if it could have been lost just recently. But Mr. Finstad, a glacial archaeologist for the county of Innlandet, knew better. By his estimate, the arrow is probably about 3,000 years old. “I was really excited,” he said.

Persons: Espen Finstad, Finstad, ”, “ I’ve Locations: Norway, Innlandet

☆ Michigan State Seeks to Fire Football Coach Amid Sexual Harassment Case
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Livia Albeck-Ripka | More About Livia Albeck-Ripka | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Mr. Tucker could not be immediately reached for comment on Monday evening. According to the letter, the woman, an activist against sexual violence and herself a survivor of gang rape, visited the university in July 2021 to teach its football team how to prevent sexual misconduct. Mr. Tucker described these conversations as “phone sex” and “a late-night intimate conversation,” the letter said. Monday’s announcement evoked painful memories of the university’s role in another sexual misconduct case. Michigan State was heavily criticized for its handling of sexual abuse reports regarding Lawrence G. Nassar, the former physician for the American gymnastics team, who was long employed by the university.

Persons: Tucker, “, Tucker’s, Lawrence G, Nassar Organizations: Associated Press, Michigan State Locations: American

☆ Man Tried to Travel the Atlantic in a Hamster Wheel, U.S. Says. Again.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Livia Albeck-Ripka | More About Livia Albeck-Ripka | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

They next day, officers tried again, but this time Mr. Baluchi showed them two knives, again threatening to kill himself. It was two days before officers — who had tried to deliver food, water and news of the approaching hurricane to Mr. Baluchi — were finally able to coax him from his floating wheel. Neither Mr. Baluchi, a former professional cyclist who was born in Iran and was granted asylum in the United States, nor his lawyer could immediately be reached for comment on Wednesday evening. According to court documents, the voyage was Mr. Baluchi’s fourth attempt in a decade at traveling on the ocean in a homemade contraption. Each time, the Coast Guard ultimately intervened, according to court records.

Persons: Baluchi, —, Baluchi —, Baluchi’s Organizations: Coast Guard, Southern, Southern District of, Justice Locations: Tybee, U.S, Southern District, Southern District of Florida, Miami, Miami Beach, Iran, United States

☆ Workers Plow Through Great Wall of China, Leaving a Hole
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Livia Albeck-Ripka | More About Livia Albeck-Ripka | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Two workers have been detained in northern China after local authorities said they plowed through a section of the country’s Great Wall with an excavator, leaving a gaping hole. The security bureau said it was first notified of the hole in a section of wall, near the township of Yangqianhexiang, about 215 miles east of Beijing, on the afternoon of Aug. 24. Law enforcement officers rushed to the scene to find that a piece of the wall, believed to have been constructed by the Ming dynasty between the 14th and 17th centuries, had been severely “excavated and damaged by large-scale machinery,” the bureau said. The man, named in the release as Zheng, and the woman, named as Wang, are from the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia in the country’s north and were taken in for investigation, the bureau added. They have been charged with destroying a cultural relic, The China Daily, a state-owned media outlet, reported.

Persons: Zheng, Wang Organizations: Public Security Bureau Locations: China, Youyu, Yangqianhexiang, Beijing, Inner Mongolia

☆ A Time Capsule Appeared to Be Full of Dirt. Then, They Looked Closer.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Livia Albeck-Ripka | More About Livia Albeck-Ripka | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The unveiling of a nearly 200-year-old time capsule yielded great disappointment earlier this week, when the box — opened at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., during a livestream watched by thousands — appeared to contain only dirt. After days of tense speculation, Paul Hudson, the academy’s archaeologist, peered into the roughly one-foot-square lead vessel with a flashlight and soon declared that “the box didn’t quite meet expectations.”As it turned out — Mr. Hudson just had to look closer. After Monday’s event, Mr. Hudson returned the box to his lab. The next day, he dug deeper into the container and unearthed six silver coins dating from 1795 to 1828 and a commemorative medal from 1826, Jennifer Voigtschild, the academy’s command historian, said on Thursday. In the moments after the box was first opened, Ms. Voigtschild said, she felt “baffled that there would be this very, very, well constructed box, that would have nothing in it.” But, she said, as Mr. Hudson began removing pieces of matter from the box while onstage and examining them, her hope was somewhat revived.

Persons: —, Paul Hudson, peered, Hudson, Jennifer Voigtschild, Voigtschild, “ Organizations: U.S . Military Academy Locations: West Point, N.Y

☆ Man Gets 2 Years in Prison for Spending Pandemic Money on Alpaca Farm
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Livia Albeck-Ripka | More About Livia Albeck-Ripka | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When the coronavirus pandemic slowed business at Dana L. McIntyre’s already flailing Boston-area pizzeria in early 2020, he, like millions of other Americans, applied for pandemic relief. But instead of spending it on the pizzeria, he used the majority of the money to buy a farm in Vermont, eight alpacas, a pickup truck and a vintage car. On Wednesday, a federal judge in Massachusetts sentenced him to two years in prison and ordered him to pay nearly $680,000, the Justice Department said. Mr. McIntyre, 59, pleaded guilty in April to four counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering. “This was no momentary lapse in the fog of the pandemic,” Joshua S. Levy, the acting U.S. attorney for Massachusetts, said in a statement.

Persons: Dana L, McIntyre, Joshua S, Levy, “, ” Organizations: Dana, Justice Department Locations: Boston, Vermont, Massachusetts

☆ Singer of ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ Says It’s Not a Republican Anthem
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Livia Albeck-Ripka | More About Livia Albeck-Ripka | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“It’s aggravating seeing people on conservative news try to identify with me like I’m one of them,” he said. “I see the right, trying to characterize me as one of their own. And I see the left trying to discredit me.”The left, he added, had misinterpreted his lyrics as being attacks on the poor when, he said, he was trying to defend them. “We’ve had years of people feeling depressed and hopeless and every time you look at the T.V. or get online everything’s negative.” He added that “corporate media and education” had helped to sow division.

Persons: Anthony, “, ”, “ I’ve, Billy Bragg, “ We’ve Organizations: Fox News, Politico Locations: Farmville, Va

☆ Dentist Sentenced to Life for Murdering His Wife on Hunting Trip
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Livia Albeck-Ripka | More About Livia Albeck-Ripka | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A wealthy dentist who was found guilty of fatally shooting his wife on a hunting trip in Zambia in 2016 has been sentenced to life in prison for murder, the Justice Department said on Monday. “Larry is innocent,” the lawyers, David O. Markus and Margot Moss, said in a statement. “He did not murder his wife.”Image Larry Rudolph’s lawyers, David Oscar Markus, left, and his co-counsel, Margot Moss, outside court on Monday after the sentencing. Credit... David Zalubowski/Associated PressDr. Rudolph, formerly of Paradise Valley, Ariz., collected nearly $4.9 million in life insurance benefits after his wife died during a trip to Kafue National Park in western Zambia. His wife, Bianca Rudolph, a big game hunter, had been hoping to add a leopard to her trophy collection, according to court documents.

Persons: Lawrence Rudolph, Rudolph, “ Larry, David O, Markus, Margot Moss, “, Larry Rudolph’s, David Oscar Markus, David Zalubowski, Bianca Rudolph Organizations: Justice, District of Locations: Zambia, U.S, District of Colorado, Paradise Valley, Ariz

☆ Tropical Storms Are Rare in California. The Last, in 1939, Killed Nearly 100.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Livia Albeck-Ripka | More About Livia Albeck-Ripka | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

More than a dozen boats were declared missing, and the wreckage of an 80-foot yacht washed up near Huntington Beach, a usually picturesque surf spot. Twenty-three people drowned when a sport fishing boat capsized just 500 feet from a pier at Point Mugu, near Oxnard. The overall damage was estimated to be around $2 million, the equivalent of around $44 million in today’s dollars. Besides the 1939 storm, the only other tropical storm to make landfall in the state was on Oct. 2, 1858, when a hurricane shook San Diego, damaging homes, uprooting trees and causing inland flooding. Christopher Landsea, a forecaster with the National Hurricane Center and an author of the paper, noted that there were no reported injuries or fatalities.

Persons: Christopher Landsea Organizations: The Times, Man, Southwestern, Administration, National Hurricane Center Locations: Huntington Beach, Mugu, Oxnard, Los Angeles, Warsaw, Poland, Southwestern United States, California, San Diego, Daily Alta California

☆ Mother of 6-Year-Old Who Shot Teacher Pleads Guilty to Child Neglect
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Livia Albeck-Ripka | More About Livia Albeck-Ripka | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The mother of a 6-year-old who shot his first-grade teacher in a Virginia classroom pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a charge of felony child neglect, according to prosecutors and a lawyer for the mother. The mother, Deja Taylor, 26, appeared in court in Newport News, Va. Prosecutors for the commonwealth agreed to drop a second misdemeanor count of child endangerment involving a loaded weapon, they said in a statement. Ms. Taylor’s lawyer, James S. Ellenson, said that while the child neglect charge would carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison, prosecutors had agreed not to deviate from the state recommendation of one to six months imprisonment, given her lack of criminal history. “She’s upset,” Mr. Ellenson said Tuesday, noting that Ms. Taylor’s child, who was undergoing therapy, was now in the full custody of his grandfather.

Persons: Deja Taylor, James S, Ellenson, “ She’s, ” Mr, Taylor’s, “ Organizations: Prosecutors Locations: Virginia, Newport News, Va

Devastating wildfires linked to climate change have lately become somewhat normal in the American West and beyond. In that sense, the Maui fires are nothing new. The ones on Maui this week are destructive in part because of the island’s isolation, fragile supply chains and dependence on tourism. The winds driving the fires, driven themselves in part by a hurricane passing hundreds of miles away in the Pacific Ocean, were expected to ease on Thursday. Phone service was down in some parts of the island’s west coast, including Hawaii’s former royal capital, Lahaina, where fire has been ripping through weathered wooden storefronts.

Persons: ”, Burgess Harrison, “ Organizations: Fire, U.S . Coast Guard, Hawaii Department of Health Locations: Maui, American, Maui and Minnesota, Minnesota, Hawaii, Lahaina

When the brush fire was first spotted early on Tuesday, Maui County officials ordered evacuations in an area on the eastern edge of town near a school. But within a few hours, officials announced on Facebook and on the county website that the blaze had been “100% contained.” And for the next few hours, while the county Emergency Management Agency warned people to stay away from several blocked roads, there appear to have been no further evacuation orders. Only as the fire spread rapidly into Lahaina, rekindled by powerful winds, did officials order more evacuations, according to statements posted on the county’s website and social media accounts. But by then, in the afternoon, some people were already dodging flames and thick smoke as they made last-minute efforts to reach safety, and many residents said they never received any alerts. At a news conference on Thursday night, the fire chief, Bradford Ventura, said the blaze had moved so quickly that it was “nearly impossible” for emergency management officials to send out evacuation orders in time.

Persons: Maui, Bradford Ventura Organizations: Facebook, Emergency Management Agency Locations: Lahaina, Maui County

On the western side of Maui, some residents fled by swimming into the ocean, where they were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard, Maui County officials said. Others escaped by car, driving past flames in the shadow of the West Maui Mountains. Two evacuation shelters closed because of the encroaching fire, and people inside were sent to new locations, Maui County officials said. The 911 emergency call service in West Maui was down early on Wednesday, and people were told to call the local police department directly instead, Maui County officials said. In Maui County, there were more 12,600 electricity customers without power on Wednesday, according to the tracking site poweroutage.us.

Persons: Hurricane Dora, Richard T, Bissen, Brian Schatz, Dora, —, Sylvia Luke, Hawaii’s Organizations: U.S . Coast Guard, Weather Service, Maui Counties, National Guard Locations: Maui, Maui County, West Maui, Hawaii, Lahaina, ”

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