♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, hawaii ablaze. the death toll rising as a fast-moving inferno engulfs maui's historic downtown. >> local people have lost everything. >> wind-whipped flames forcing thousands from their homes. >> no one ever talked about the possibility of all of lahaina

burning. that doesn't even cross your mind. >> some escaping into the ocean as officials warn visitors to stay away. the scramble to treat burn victims and the desperate search for survivors amid the devastation. plus, the lizzo lawsuit. the bombshell allegations by three former backup dancers. >> this is an artist that i looked up to. >> i was in shock. >> accusing the grammy winner of sexual and racial harassment, a hostile work environment, even threatening assault. >> she attempted to come at me with her fists balled up. >> juju: the scrutiny they're facing. >> what do you say to critics who say, this is just a money grab? >> it's very demean to the girls. >> juju: as the superstar says she did nothing wrong. and music man. celebrating the life and legacy of the band's robby robertson. how he shouldered the weight of stardom while writing songs that reshaped the music industry.

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taken by surprise, and that surprise is now turning into shock with thousands forced to flee their homes and fears the death toll could rise. abc's will carr reporting tonight from maui. >> reporter: an apocalyptic scene from one of the most visited places in the world. an inferno on the island of maui leaving at least six dead and thousands displaced. >> local people have lost everything. they've lost their house, they've lost their animals -- >> lahaina is on fire. >> reporter: several fires erupting fueled by an unusual weather pattern driving powerful winds combined with drought-stricken land creating a perfect set of conditions, homes and businesses destroyed, massive evacuations. at least a dozen jumping into the ocean to escape and were rescued by the coast guard. >> no one talked about the possibility of all of lahaina

burning. >> reporter: many caught by surprise. >> i realized how bad this fire was getting, and i ran down to the harbor. >> reporter: clare shot this video early this morning as she saw flames closing in on her neighborhood. she warned her friends to flee. >> i ran back to my house or my friend's house. i was like, "guys, we have to go." within 20 minutes, we were out the door. >> reporter: she struggled to outrun the blaze. >> we were dodging branches and just things flying through the air. then there's a whole wall of black smoke behind us. >> reporter: she lost her house, a neighborhood in historic lahaina with buildings dating back to the 1700s ravaged. what was once the capital of the hawaiian kingdom, now a national historic landmark up in smoke. the 150-year-old banyan trees treasured by locals and tourists is gone. >> behind me -- >> reporter: david ohno with our

abc station kabc on the ground in a burned-out neighborhood on the edge of lahaina. >> the classic lahaina neighborhood. as you can see, the is vast. many, many homes in flames. >> reporter: scott was trapped trying to save his house. he spoke to my colleague. >> then we started smelling the smoke. that's when we knew we had trouble. and here it came. and it came, and it came quick. >> reporter: while escaping, he got separated from his wife. he's still looking for her. >> i know she's safe. i think she's safe. but i haven't found her yet. >> reporter: on the other side of the mountainlahaina, leif witnessed pandemonium. >> this lady comes walking out of the smoke covered in soot, no shoes, walking aimlessly with two dogs following her. >> reporter: hawaii declaring a

state of emergency. the lieutenant governor urging tourists toty away. >> we encourage anyone with travel plans to maui, cancel your flight or postpone. it will be really prudent if you cancel your travel plans. >> reporter: these passengers getting off a plane heading from los angeles to maui as news spread about the devastation and the danger. >> twice the pilot closed the door here, and twice he reopened it, letting passengers off -- >> reporter: hospitals are overwhelmed with burn patients and smoke inhalation cases. hawaii's national guard has been actived, helping first responders. tens of are without power tonight. kent says she knows she's one of the lucky ones. >> my loss is minuscule scared to what i know other people are losing right now. knowing that people who have grown up there and their entire livelihoods, their families, their history, their culture,

their jobs, their homes, everything is gone in lahaina. >> juju: our thanks to will. joining me is hawaii senator macy hirono. thank you for your time. >> thank you very much. in the midst of this disaster. >> juju: the images apocalyptic, hospitals overwhelmed, manpower is short. give us an overview of the emergency response. >> it's all hands to deck with the federal government, state, counties. the airlines are stepping up because people need to be evacuated to oahu. even as we speak, the firefighting is still going on. the search and rescue efforts are under way. in addition, we need to restore power to some 3,000 homes. we also need to do the internet connections so people can communicate with each other. as i say, the communities are coming together, big the clig

island. not experiencing fires as badly as maui, but the big island has put together a task force to support. >> juju: what exactly does hawaii need? you've had urgent calls for federal assistance. >> assessment is still going on. lahaina is a very historic town or used to be the capital of hawaii. there's only one road in and out. so this lends more challenges to getting assistance and clearing things away. >> juju: you mentioned lahaina has historic structures. give us a sense of some of the symbols of the kingdom of hawaii that have been lost today. >> it was an old whaling town with historic buildings. our current assessment is that the town has burned substantially. so all of the businesses and 10,000 or so people who live there in addition to the tourists all needing to shelter

in place or be evacuated. it is all hands on deck. >> juju: we know you're in the midst of a crisis. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> juju: best of luck. up next, the bombshell lizzo lawsuit. three former backup dancers share their side of the story as the superstar singer digs in and denies the allegations against her. arthritis symptoms. to severe rheumatoid with my psoriatic arthritis symptoms. but just ok isn't ok. and i was done settling. if you still have symptoms after a tnf blocker like humira or enbrel, rinvoq is different and may help. rinvoq is a once-daily pill that can dramatically relieve ra and psa symptoms, including fatigue for some. it can stop joint damage. and in psa, can leave skin clear or almost clear. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. serious infections and blood clots, some fatal; cancers, including lymphoma and skin cancer;

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♪ >> juju: she's a bona fide superstar who built her reputation with a message of body positivity. but these days, lizzo is defending herself against some

very negative accusations. they come from three former backup dancers, and their lawyer says they're now hearing from other women with similar stories. here's abc's janai norman. >> so this is me, this is her -- >> reporter: for crystal williams, her time dancing with pop megastar lizzo she says has been colored with painful memories. >> this is an artist that i looked up to at one point. because i identified so much with what she stood for and what her message was. ♪ >> reporter: lizzo, the grammy award-winning superstar and "good as hell" singer now in the hot seat. sued by three former backup dancers. >> i'm just a measly dancer, who's going to believe me? >> from the jump it was not a good environment. >> reporter: accusing the pop star and her production company of sexual and racial harassment, even assault, plus creating a hostile work environment. >> this lawsuit is explosive,

not just in the allegations that it's making, but also who it's towards. lizzo. >> reporter: lizzo is denying it all, but the allegations have already done major damage. losing more than 200,000 followers on instagram and the upcoming made in america festival she was set to headline was canceled due to severe circumstances outside of production control. for years, the entertainer has been known for promoting body positivity and self-love. with songs like "about damn time." >> i think vulnerability is sexy, is extremely powerful. that's why, you know, you see me in my most vulnerable state. >> reporter: unapologetic boldness endearing and inspiring for millions of fans. but the dancers say lizzo isn't practicing what she preaches. >> how could you stand for this

message, self-love and mental health, you sing about this every night, but you're not doing the work and you're not walking the walk yourself. >> lizzo is a body positive, inclusive, multi-talented artist. when these sort of claims started coming out, it was really shocking. >> reporter: for 26-year-old crystal williams, dancing is life. she heard auditions were starting for a new show, lizzo's amazon prime series "watch out for the big girls." krystle made the cut and eventually so did fellow dancer ariama davis. >> i'm like, oh, i get to work with you, be one of your dancers. that was a very exciting moment are you but it quickly declined. >> reporter: williams and davis now taking on their ex-boss alongside former dancer noelle rodriguez. >> i voluntarily left on my own accord because the treatment was so disgusting on everyone's

part. it was so blatant. >> reporter: the lawsuit claims lit wroe and management fostered a sexually charged environment which made some in the dance cast uncomfortable. one particular night out in the red light district in amsterdam they say remains seared in their minds. all three women say although attendance was optional, they felt pressure to attend a club that featured new performers. >> things started getting a little weird. te start pulling out sex toys. >> reporter: who's they? >> the performers. they start taking out bananas. the girl would put them, you know in her, heard. lizzo was encouraging people to, "oh, hey, you come do it." >> i think at that point, after seeing that, we were like, maybe it's time to go. >> to go. >> reporter: why don't you? >> it was pure shock. >> reporter: according to the lawsuit, the three women say they were pressured to attend the after party events lizzo planned because those who went

were widely considered to enjoy greater job security. >> then time to come up and touch the new performers. she singled me out. i hadn't been talking to her the entire time. "come on. >> it's your turn, come do it." i'm like, "i'm good, nope, i'm good." >> reporter: why did you stick around? >> i wanted to be really, really clear that people think we're saying, yes, yes, i'm going to say, yes, i'm going to stay. which sounds like consent, right? but how is consent a thing when there is an imbalance of power? >> reporter: we reached out to his zo's team and they pointed us to a statement the star released on instagram saying in pardon, i'm not here to be looked at as a victim, but i also know i'm not the villain. i am very open with my sexuality and expressing myself but i cannot accept or allow people to use that openness to make me out to be something i'm not. ariana says binge eating and weight changes have been a part of her lifelong mental health

struggle. >> there was a point where lizzo and someone it is, according to the lawsuit, pulled you aside, were asking you how you were, were checking in on you, offered to give you time off from rehearsal to go to therapy. >> yeah, so it's so much. i had already been, like, feeling like they were concerned about my weight gain. >> reporter: even though lizzo never explicitly mentioned weight gain, davis in the complaint says she had the impression that they needed to explain her weight gain in order to keep her job. in the previously released statement, lizzo writes she would absolutely criticize or terminate an employee because of their weight. ♪ they don't know i do it for the culture ♪ >> reporter: in light of the lawsuit, lived lizzo's brand and work are getting a second look, like song lyrics and the hit single "rumors." ♪

>> she said it herself. these people are trying to sue me, and i don't give two -- s-words. while also advocating for mental health, for the respect of women in the workplace. >> you did at some point sign ndas? >> yes, all three of us. >> ndas cannot silence you if your rights are violated, at least under california law. >> reporter: that's why they've been able to talk? >> right. just commonsense things. don't bring workers that are not your friends to a bar that's sexually explicit, that's not okay. >> reporter: a lawyer for lizzo called the lawsuit a sham and provided abc news video they say was filmed in april for that show of davis seemingly praising her former employer. >> i look up to her so much. and i just want to follow in her footsteps. i just want to share that with the queen, lizzo herself. >> after so many of these

allegations but before you were fired, you were singing a different song in that video. >> most of the things in the lawsuit happened after this video. a lot of the girls from the show, we sing her praises throughout this situation. it further shows how much i was trying to be good enough and are her, please her, show her reality. >> reporter: alleging lizzo assaulted her after she said she stood up to the star for firing davis. did lizzo put her hands on you? >> she was held back from putting hands on me. >> reporter: did she ever put her hands on you? >> no, she didn't get to that point. she attempted to come at me with fists balled up saying, "noelle, you're so effing lucky." as she's making her way towards me like this, ready to punch me. i was in shock. i couldn't believe that by me simply expressing how i felt unsafe, how i felt unheard -- i wasn't expecting to be met with her attempting to get physical. >> reporter: an attorney for lizzo said, we are confident

that lizzo will be completely vindicated in this matter. >> i feel like she's going to come back from this, for sure. she's just protect going to take time for herself, come back, write a song about it. >> the court of public opinion, her reputation could take a very hefty hit. it might not just be what the plaintiffs take from her if they win, it could be what lizzo loses in terms of contracts and other deals she would have gotten but for this lawsuit. >> reporter: the star isn't the only one facing back trash. what do you say to critics who say, it's just a money grab? >> it's very demeaning to the rex tillersons. they want to express what happened and defend themselves by piercing the nda. >> reporter: lizzo adds, thiessen sationalized stories are coming from former employees who have already publicly admitted they were told their behavior on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional. but despite the scrutiny, the dancers say they won't back down. >> all i can do is just hope

that she sees everything and how it's unfolding and tries to do better moving forward. >> juju: our thanks to janai. coming up, from "up on cripple creek" to "the night they drove old dixie down," celebrating the rock 'n' roll influence of the band's robby robertson. ♪ a drunkard's dream if i ever did see one ♪ hey, jen. i need skin advice. sure. am i ready for retinol? neutrogena® retinol? yes! it evens skin tone, and smooths fine lines, with visible results in just one week. sounds like you've said that before. once or twice. neutrogena® retinol do you struggle with occasional nerve aches in your hands or feet? try nervive nerve relief from the world's number one nerve care company. nervive contains ala to relieve nerve aches, and b-complex vitamins to fortify healthy nerves. try nervive. and, try nervive pain relieving roll-on. (vo) for over 50 years

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>> juju: robby robertson, the canadian-born lead guitarist, singer/songwriter for the band has died. he wrote classics like "the wait" and "up on cripple creek." the band was famously featured in "the last waltz" directed by martin scorsese. robertson continued to collaborate with scorsese, who today called him a giant. robby robertson was 80 years old. and that is "nightline" for tonight. watch all our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back re, same time tomorrow. thanks for staying up with us. good night, america. with a little help.