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Valleywise Health burn center treating 6 people injured in Hawaii NYE firework tragedy

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Valleywise Health burn center treating 6 people injured in Hawaii NYE firework tragedy


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Six critically burned patients arrived in Phoenix from Hawaii on Saturday night, following a New Year’s Eve firework tragedy that left three dead and over 20 injured.

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The six patients, who are in their 20s and 30s, are in critical condition and have burns covering 60% to 80% of their bodies, said Valleywise Health chief clinical officer Dr. Michael White.

White said all six have a good chance of survival and that Valleywise Health does not expect more patients to be flown in.

Hawaii’s only burn center is located on Oahu where the incident took place, but beds are limited. White said the Diane and Bruce Halle Arizona Burn Center in Phoenix, Arizona’s only burn center and one of the largest in the country, has the ability to help.

“When the call is made, we’re more than happy, if we have the capacity and expertise, to help these patients,” White said.

According to Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, the six were chosen due to the severity of traumatic injuries and burns sustained during the incident. Green authorized a C-17 military transport to fly them into Phoenix and it arrived at Sky Harbor International Airport around 8:30 p.m. Saturday.

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On X, Phoenix mayor Kate Gallego applauded Phoenix Fire’s efforts to transport the patients from Sky Harbor.

Phoenix fire officials collaborated with both state and federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, to ensure the patients were transported to Valleywise Health safely.  

“This shows our dedication to saving lives beyond our state borders,” a Phoenix Fire Department spokesperson said.  

Among those flown into Arizona was a mother of a 3-month-old.

On the cusp of New Year’s Day, three people died and over 20 were injured from a firework explosion around midnight in the Aliamanu, also known as the Salt Lake, neighborhood near Pearl Harbor and Honolulu on Hawaii’s third largest island.

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What caused the explosion?

In a Jan. 1 press conference from the Honolulu Police Department, authorities said a person lit a firework “cake” containing around 50 individual aerial fireworks that somehow tipped over, shooting into other crates also filled with fireworks and resulting in the fatal explosion. Authorities estimated fireworks recovered at the scene cost tens of thousands of dollars.

“It looked like a war zone,” Honolulu Fire Chief Sheldon Hao said during the press conference.

Videos posted on social media appear to show dozens of fireworks exploding in a massive, bright blaze, with plumes of smoke rising in the air. The blast appeared to explode on a resident’s front lawn, along a dense neighborhood street dotted with parked cars.

Twenty-three adults and three children were seriously and critically injured in the explosion, though the estimate does not account for those who admitted themselves into the hospital, authorities said. Two women died at the scene and a third passed away a few hours later.

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“Make no mistake, it was a bomb … it was a firework bomb,” Gov. Green said.

Most people injured sustained burns, but injuries also included those caused by shrapnel that were “gruesome,” said Honolulu Emergency Services Department director Dr. Jim Ireland at the press conference.

Honolulu police said the person who lit the fireworks, as well as those who potentially supplied the illegal ones, may face criminal prosecution pending the investigation.

A fourth person died due to an unrelated firework incident in the Kalihi area about six miles away.

‘Best left to the professionals’

Fireworks are fundamentally dangerous, Dr. White from Valleywise Health noted. “They are explosive devices. (There’s) risk for burns and risk for injuries such as this,” he said.

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In Phoenix, any firework that is designed to shoot off the ground is illegal and can carry a misdemeanor charge, fines or jail time, according to Sgt. Brian Bower with Phoenix police.

Fines for illegal fireworks vary per city:

  • Avondale: $1,000. 
  • Chandler: $1,000. 
  • Gilbert: $1,000. 
  • Glendale: $1,500 on first offense, $2,000 on second offense. 
  • Goodyear: $1,000. 
  • Mesa: First offense $500; each subsequent offense between $1,000 and $2,500. 
  • Peoria: $750. 
  • Phoenix: $1,000. 
  • Queen Creek: $1,000. 
  • Tempe: $1,000. 
  • Tolleson: $250. 
  • Scottsdale: Minimum fine of $275. 
  • Surprise: No less than $150, no more than $1,000.

Cities also can hold residents liable for fire damage and emergency responses related to fireworks use. “Fireworks should be left to the professionals,” White said.

Multiple GoFundMe pages have been started to aid those who were injured or died in the New Year’s Eve incident.





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Hawaii NFL quarterbacks from the same high school to face off for the first time

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Hawaii NFL quarterbacks from the same high school to face off for the first time


HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaii-born NFL quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa and Marcus Mariota will face off against each other for the first time ever.

The Miami Dolphins take on the Washington Commanders this Sunday in Spain.

It’s believed to be the first time two QBs from the same Hawaii high school will play against each other.

The two St. Louis alums are five years apart.

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“For us, Tua and myself, we grew up in the middle of the Pacific, far away from here,” Mariota said in a press conference. “The fact of the matter is, we get a chance to be a part of this game is very special, and I don’t take that for granted at all.”

“I was a big fan of him, still am, just of the person that he is outside of the player,” Tagovailoa said. “Just happy for his success. I know he’s been going through ebbs and flows throughout years and teams, but if you get to know the kind of person he is, the playing and whatnot is second.”

Kick off in Madrid is set for 4:30 a.m. Hawaii time on the NFL Network.



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Russian military spy ship tracked by U.S. Coast Guard just 15 miles off Hawaii coast

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Russian military spy ship tracked by U.S. Coast Guard just 15 miles off Hawaii coast


The U.S. Coast Guard said it detected and tracked a Russia military spy ship just miles off the coast of Hawaii, the latest incident of a Russian vessel or plane operating close to the U.S.

The Russian intelligence vessel, Kareliya, was spotted about 15 nautical miles south of Oahu on Oct. 29, the Coast Guard said Thursday.

An HC-130 Hercules helicopter and a Coast Guard cutter were dispatched to monitor the ship by “conducting a safe and professional overflight and transiting near the vessel,” officials said.

The Coast Guard, which released a photo of the ship, said it is still tracking the vessel’s movement near U.S. waters “to provide maritime security for U.S. vessels operating in the area and to support U.S. homeland defense efforts.”

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A Russian military vessel was detected and monitored off the coast of Hawaii, the  U.S. Coast Guard said on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025.

United States Coast Guard


“The U.S. Coast Guard routinely monitors maritime activity around the Hawaiian Islands and throughout the Pacific to ensure the safety and security of U.S. waters,” Capt. Matthew Chong said in a statement.  

International law allows foreign military ships to transit outside other nations’ territorial seas, which extend up to 12 nautical miles from shore.

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The Coast Guard said the Kareliya is a Vishnya-class intelligence vessel, which were built for the Soviet Navy in the 1980s. There are seven such ships still in service with the Russian Navy, according to the U.S. Army. 

The Kareliya was also spotted off Hawaii in 2021, USNI News reported at the time. In 2023, the U.S. Coast Guard also tracked a Russian ship near the Hawaiian Islands that was believed to be gathering intelligence.

Earlier this year, British officials said the Royal Navy was monitoring a Russian spy ship operating in U.K. waters. British Defense Secretary John Healey told Parliament the vessel was being “used for gathering intelligence and mapping the U.K.’s critical underwater infrastructure.”

“I also wanted President Putin to hear this message: We see you, we know what you’re doing and we will not shy away from robust action to protect this country,” he told lawmakers.

Russian spy planes are also routinely spotted off the U.S., particularly inside the Alaskan identification zone. The zone begins where U.S. territory ends off the coast of Alaska, and aircraft from other countries are required to identify themselves to the U.S. and Canada when they enter. Russian military activity in the zone is common and not considered a threat, according to NORAD.

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However, in September 2024, NORAD posted dramatic video of a Russian jet flying “within just a few feet” of NORAD aircraft off the coast of Alaska. At the time, a U.S. general said “the conduct of one Russian Su-35 was unsafe, unprofessional, and endangered all.”



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Video shows ‘ash tornado’ spinning around erupting Kilauea volcano in Hawaii

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Video shows ‘ash tornado’ spinning around erupting Kilauea volcano in Hawaii


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A funnel cloud of spinning ash was caught on camera over the weekend, whirling around an eruption from the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii.

Kilauea, located in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, experienced a five-hour eruptive episode on Sunday, Nov. 9, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), with lava fountains spewing up to 1,000-1,100 feet into the air.

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Video captured by a bystander shows a cloud of ash twisting into a tornado-like funnel, nicknamed a “volnado,” emerging from Kilauea’s 36th episode of an eruption that began in December 2024.

Kilauea is one of the most active volcanoes in the world, NPS says

Kilauea is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and the most active on Hawaiʻi Island, according to the National Park Service. It first formed roughly 280,000 years ago and grew above sea level about 100,000 years ago, erupting dozens of times since 1952.

“Volnados” are wind vortexes or whirlwinds created by the “chaotic and turbulent mixing of hot and cold air” during eruption, according to USGS.

Hot rising air lifts ash and dust into the atmosphere to spin at high speed, often picking up potentially hazardous materials along the way, including hot lava, pieces of crust and Pele’s hair, or strands of volcanic glass.

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