Maui wildfires updates: President Biden, first lady tour damage

Dr. Art Chasen, trauma medical director at Maui Memorial Medical Center, described to ABC News what it's been like treating patients who have been injured by the devastating wildfires.

He said Tuesday night was the first night he experienced a mass casualty event in the 12 years since he has worked at the hospital. Staff saw about 40 patients throughout the night, eight with life-threatening severe burns and the rest with minor burns, smoke inhalation injuries and other fire-related injuries.

Chasen described one patient, a fireman, who got seriously injured while trying to save people from a burning structure.

"He just kept going back until he ran out of oxygen," Chasen said. "He ended up somehow taking off his mask and collapsing in the fire. His fellow firefighters went in and rescued him. He had severe burns on his legs at the scene."

"He coded, his heart hard stopped and so he received CPR for three to five minutes...and they brought him back and he was in our ICU overnight."

The fireman was transferred to Queen's Medical Center in Oahu. In total, nine patients were transferred to Queen's and Straub Medical Center, also in Oahu.

Maui Memorial has seen about 60 patients total as of Friday morning, and Chasen expects a second wave of injured patients now that roads are reopening, but insisted that the hospital is not overwhelmed or struggling to accommodate patients.

"We were not overwhelmed. We've never turned anybody away," he said. "We have beds available. We have ICU space available. We've been seeing regular trauma patients throughout the time, like motorcycle accidents and things like that. So our hospital surged to meet the demand."

-ABC News' Mary Kekatos

Impacts from the deadly Maui wildfires go beyond evacuations and damaged buildings. Experts say the fires are also affecting residents' and tourists' physical health and could have impacts on their mental health.

Wildfire smoke is a mixture of gases, pollutants and particles that people can inhale, penetrating the lungs and even entering the bloodstream.

Research has also shown wildfires and the subsequent smoke can lead to increased rates of anxiety and depression and become worse among people who already have these conditions.

Read more about the possible health impacts here.

-ABC News' Mary Kekatos

Jeff Bezos and his fiancée, Lauren Sanchez, have pledged $100 million to Maui, Sanchez announced on Instagram.

"Jeff and I are heartbroken by what's happening in Maui," Sanchez said in the post, which Bezos also shared on his Instagram account. "We are thinking of all the families that have lost so much and a community that has been left devastated."

She said they are creating a Maui Fund and dedicating $100 million "to help Maui get back on its feet now and over the coming years as the continuing needs reveal themselves."

West Maui residents will be allowed into their homes Friday, officials said.

Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen announced during a radio update that they will be reopening parts of West Maui with proof of residency, and for visitors with proof of hotel reservation. Access to Lahaina will begin at noon local time, officials said.

There will be a daily curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., he said. During those hours there will be no unauthorized public access to Lahaina to protect residences and property, officials said.

"They will see destruction like they’ve not ever seen in their lives," Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said in an interview on local station KHON Friday.

"Do not go into any structure remotely effected by fires, we do not want to see any other casualties," he added.

-ABC News' Jennifer Watts and Alyssa Pone