HAWAII WILDFIRE: DEATH TOLL CONTINUES TO RISE AS PROBE LAUNCHED INTO BLAZE RESPONSE

Sat 12 August 2023:

The confirmed death toll from this week’s wildfires in Maui has now reached 80, the Maui County government announced Friday at 9 p.m. HST (3 a.m. ET).

“Firefighters continue working to extinguish flare-ups and contain fires in Lahaina, Pulehu/Kihei and Upcountry Maui,” the release said. “The number of fatalities is at 80.”

There are worries that the numbers will increase in what is currently the worst natural disaster to hit a US state.

Hawaii fires: Fresh evacuations under way in Maui as death toll climbs to 80#Hawaii #MauiFires #LahainaFires #lahainamaui #Kaanapali pic.twitter.com/DYWA8d8k7L

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) August 12, 2023

Hawaii’s attorney-general said on Friday that she was opening a probe into how authorities responded to devastating wildfires that have left at least 80 people dead and 1,418 people at emergency evacuation shelters, according to the latest figures.

“The Department of the Attorney-General will be conducting a comprehensive review of critical decision-making and standing policies leading up to, during, and after the wildfires on Maui and Hawaii islands this week,” the office of Attorney-General Anne Lopez said in a statement.

Officials have warned that search teams with cadaver dogs could still find more dead from the fire that torched 1,000 buildings and left thousands homeless and will likely require many years and billions of dollars to rebuild.

Three days after the disaster, it remained unclear whether some residents had received any warning before the fire engulfed their homes.

Maui fires: At least 36 killed in Hawaii as flames destroy whole neighbourhoods.

Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate their homes and a state of emergency has been declared.#Hawaiifire pic.twitter.com/HHBdSClt6P

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) August 10, 2023

The island includes emergency sirens intended to warn of natural disasters and other threats, but they did not appear to have sounded during the fire.

“I authorised a comprehensive review this morning to make sure that we know exactly what happened and when,” Hawaii Governor Josh Green told CNN, referring to the warning sirens.

Officials have not offered a detailed picture of precisely what notifications were sent out, and whether they were done via text message, email or phone calls.

The disaster began unfolding just after midnight on Tuesday when a brush fire was reported in the town of Kula, roughly 56km (35 miles) from Lahaina. About five hours later that morning, power was knocked out in Lahaina, according to residents.

By that afternoon, however, the situation had turned dire. At approximately 3:30pm local time (01:30 GMT Wednesday), according to the county’s updates, the Lahaina fire suddenly flared up. Some residents began evacuating while people, including hotel guests, on the town’s west side were instructed to shelter in place.

In the ensuing hours, the county posted a series of evacuation orders on Facebook as the fire spread through the town.

Lahaina Resort on the island of Maui before the fires and after. Satellite images published by Maxar.#Hawaiifire pic.twitter.com/FniTWyJcy0

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) August 10, 2023

Search efforts

Search and rescue teams with cadaver dogs from California and Washington are in Maui to assist, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The federal government has released enough food and water to support 5,000 people for five days, the White House said. Hawaii County has created a task force to support Maui, including helping people find housing, Mayor Mitch Roth said.

Lahaina

Residents with identification showing proof of residency, and visitors with proof of hotel reservations, were allowed back in the area on Friday. CNN affiliate KVVU showed footage of cars lining up on the only access road. The governor previously estimated that about 80% of the town, the economic hub of the region, was destroyed by the fires. The US Coast Guard said it rescued 17 people who fled into the Pacific Ocean to escape the wildfire flames that destroyed the town.

At least 36 people have died after wildfires, fanned by winds from a faraway hurricane, devastated much of the resort city Lahaina on Hawaii's Maui island. pic.twitter.com/fPfuyxZmmg

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) August 10, 2023

Limited resources

A “mass influx” of people have been seeking assistance at food banks, Maui Food Bank Executive Director Richard Yust said. He said resources on the island are limited and that even an expedited ocean freight is two weeks away. People need food, water, cleaning products and hygiene products, he said. Hundreds of displaced Maui residents tell CNN they are trying to find loved ones while grappling with losing their homes.

At least 36 killed as wildfires tear through Maui island in Hawaii pic.twitter.com/uO98Nv63FE

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) August 10, 2023

Why the fires have been so hard to contain

Drought worsened in Hawaii over the past week, leading to fire spread, according to the US Drought Monitor released Thursday. High winds from Hurricane Dora 500 miles south of Hawaii coupled with low humidity levels produced “dangerous fire weather conditions” through Wednesday afternoon, the weather service said. Invasive grasses and shrubs also become highly flammable in the dry season, scientists said.

The fires have become the deadliest natural disaster in Hawaii’s history, surpassing that of a tsunami that killed 61 people on the Big Island of Hawaii in 1960, a year after Hawaii joined the United States.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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