At least 93 people have died as a result of the wildfire that tore through the lovely town of Lahaina on the Hawaiian island of Maui this week, according to early Sunday reports from the authorities. This makes the blaze the deadliest natural disaster to strike Hawaii since it became a state in 1959.
Officials from Maui County stated two of the fatalities had been identified.
Firefighting workers are still putting out flare-ups in the Lahaina and Upcountry Maui fires, according to early Sunday statements from Maui County officials. Three structures in Olinda and 16 in Kula were burned in the Upcountry Maui fire. The Pulehu/Khei fire was given the all-clear on Saturday, which implies that 100% of its perimeter has been contained by a control line and accounts for any potential for the fire to move outside of its original boundary and into new regions.
A 1-acre fire that was reported on Friday night in Kaanapali, close to Lahaina, and above Puukolii has been put out.
How to assist individuals impacted by the wildfires in Maui
The deadliest natural disaster to strike Hawaii since it became a state
The wildfires have surpassed a tsunami that killed 61 people in 1960 as the state’s biggest natural calamity in decades. A more deadly tsunami in 1946 that killed over 150 people on the Big Island led to the creation of a territory-wide emergency alert system with monthly tests for the sirens.
Numerous People Died In The Maui Wildfire That Devastated Lahaina
On August 12, 2023, in Kula, Hawaii, Brook Cretton extinguishes hot spots at a house that had been completely burned by a wildfire.
GETTY IMAGES / JUSTIN SULLIVAN
According to Hawaii emergency management data, the town’s warning sirens did not ring prior to the arrival of the fire. Authorities issued alerts to mobile phones, televisions, and radio stations, but their reach may have been constrained by widespread power and cellphone disruptions.
The most recent statistic also outnumbered the fatalities from the 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California, which destroyed Paradise and claimed 85 lives. The 1918 Cloquet Fire, which erupted in drought-stricken northern Minnesota and swept through several rural villages, destroyed thousands of homes and claimed hundreds of lives a century earlier.
Hawaii’s governor says the death toll “is going to rise”
As he visited the destruction on Lahaina’s renowned Front Street with personnel from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Hawaii Governor Josh Green declared that activities will be focused on “the loss of life” on Saturday.
Of the three significant wildfires that broke out on the island Tuesday, the Lahaina fire was the most harmful and destructive.
As he surveyed the destruction on historic Front Street on Saturday, Green commented, “It’s going to rise,” in reference to the death toll. “It will undoubtedly rank as Hawaii’s worst-ever natural disaster…All we can do is wait while providing for the living. As soon as possible, we want to reunite individuals, find them housing, and provide them with healthcare before moving on to reconstruction.
According to FEMA, the organization has begun spray-painting “X” symbols on Front Street vehicles and structures to denote that they have received a first check but that there may still be human remains within. If crew members discover any remains during a subsequent run through, they will append the initials “HR” next to the “X.”
Given that there is only one hospital and three morgues, it is unknown how the island’s morgues will be able to handle the growing number of casualties as the death toll from the flames climbs.
Aside from the verified fatalities on Maui, hundreds more people are still missing.
In a news conference held on Saturday afternoon, Maui County Police Chief John Pelletier said that just 3% of the burn area had been combed so far by search and rescue teams using cadaver dogs that had been flown in from California and Washington.
He reported that FEMA had consented to send in an additional 12 cadaver dogs.
Pelletier stated, “We can only move as quickly as that animal can move.
Deanne Criswell, the FEMA administrator, reported that 150 FEMA employees were present in Maui and that further search and rescue teams were on their way.
Pelletier urged with locals to get DNA tests if they have lost family members.
Pelletier stated, “We need you to take the DNA test. We must locate your family members.
Mike Rice has been trying to contact his buddies on the island but hasn’t heard back. He stated that it was too soon to give up hope, but he did not rule out the potential that they, along with countless others, may have perished.
He claimed that none of them had cellphones, which made finding three members of the Hernandez family more difficult.
The former New Yorker, now a resident of California, stated, “I think they could have very well made it out.” I’m not going to wait around with a sense of impending doom to find out whether they made it or not.
Emergency personnel in Maui were still evaluating the extent of the damage sustained Saturday in Lahaina’s downtown and looking for places to accommodate those who had been evicted from their houses.
Green stated at the news conference held on Saturday afternoon that the state has reserved 1,000 rooms to shelter displaced citizens and newly hired support workers temporarily. Before using the hotels, according to Green, officials had to make sure their electrical was operational.
Green stated, “What we’d like to do is get people in as early as now.” But again, without reliable power, the majority of people are most likely to move into accommodation on Monday or Tuesday.
According to Green, long-term rentals will become available “in the coming days.” According to Green, the whole cost of those rentals will be covered by a combination of state cash, FEMA funding, and philanthropic contributions.
According to the assessment published by FEMA and the Pacific Disaster Center at the University of Hawaii, there was a significant demand for shelter, with the number of persons who would need it reaching 4,500.
According to preliminary figures from the Pacific Disaster Center, at least 2,207 structures were estimated to have been damaged or destroyed in the wildfires. The center also predicted that it would take an estimated $5.5 billion to reconstruct the island.
Additionally, there was new information on Saturday regarding boat damage, with sonar confirming that nine boats have sunk in Lahaina Harbor.
Los Angeles Times via GETTY Images, Robert Gautier
The power outages in west Maui are expected to linger for several weeks, and about 30 cell towers were still not working on Saturday.
There have been at least two further fires in Maui, in the rugged interior settlements of Upcountry and the Kihei region of south Maui, although no fatalities have been recorded to date. Authorities said that a fourth fire broke out Friday night in Kaanapali, a seaside village in West Maui north of Lahaina, but personnel were able to put it out.
Green stated that 544 structures, 96% of which were residential, were impacted by the Upcountry fire.
Lahaina locals have complained that it is difficult to go to their houses because of the island’s western road restrictions and police checkpoints.
On Saturday morning, a local asked for directions to the closest shelter while walking barefoot while toting a laptop and a passport. Another person surveyed the wreckage at the harbor while riding his bicycle. He claimed that his boat had sunk after catching fire.
The neighborhood was strangely empty of people and official government activities, with the exception of one fire engine and a few construction trucks.
The fires’ origin is still a mystery. Tuesday saw the start of the Lahaina fire, which was accompanied by commotion and panic. On the island, there were no activated emergency sirens. Additionally, residents reported that the power had been turned off, denying them access to radio or television. Additionally, many claimed they never got text alerts. People in the town only escaped when the flames were closing in.
In a statement released on Friday, Hawaii’s attorney general, Anne Lopez, said her office will conduct a “comprehensive review of critical decision-making and standing policies leading up to, during, and after the wildfires.”
The wildfires have surpassed a tsunami that killed 61 people in 1960 as the state’s biggest natural calamity in decades. A more deadly tsunami in 1946 that killed over 150 people on the Big Island led to the creation of a territory-wide emergency alert system with monthly tests for the sirens.