The Indonesian Consulate General In LA Monitors The Condition Of Indonesian Citizens After The Forest Fire Tragedy In Hawaii

Fire in Maui, Hawaii. (Wikimedia Commons/US Coast Guard Hawaii'i Pacific District 14)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Consulate General in Los Angeles continues to monitor the fire situation in Maui, Hawaii, and establish communication with local authorities and the Indonesian community in the region.

Director of Protection for Indonesian Citizens and BHI of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Judha Nugraha said that as of Tuesday (15/8) there was no information about Indonesian citizens who were victims of the forest fires.

"The number of victims who died as a result of the fire as of Tuesday, August 15 reached 99 people," he quoted local authorities as saying.

However, Judha said there was one Indonesian citizen, who married a citizen of the United States, whose house was on fire. The Indonesian Consulate General has communicated with the Indonesian citizen and has now been evacuated to a safe location at the War Memorial Stadium Complex in the town of Wailuku, Hawaii.

The Indonesian Consulate General in Los Angeles also continues to urge the Indonesian people in Hawaii to remain vigilant and follow the directions of the local government. Indonesian citizens can also contact the Indonesian Consulate General's hotline if they experience an emergency situation.

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Based on the records of the Indonesian Consulate General in LA, there are around 600 Indonesian citizens living in Hawaii and about 20 of them living in Maui, which is the location of the fire.

A forest fire broke out on August 8 in the city of Laihana in the western part of Maui Island in Hawaii, USA. Strong winds due to the Dora storm caused the fire to spread even more violently. The fire broke out in the midst of extreme weather in the US this dry summer.

The Maui fire was the deadliest forest fire in the US since 1918, when the Cloquet fire in northern Minnesota, which raged for more than four days, claimed 453 lives, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) said.

The deadliest fire in US history was the Peshtigo fire in Wisconsin in 1871. The fire claimed 1,152 human lives.