Dozens of people and twenty dogs roamed neighborhoods reduced to ashes, looking for the dead in burned-out houses and cars. The number of 96 confirmed deaths so far already made it the deadliest fire in the United States in more than a century. Two other fires were still burning, including the one that ripped through the historic town of Lahaina, according to a report Sunday night from Maui County.
Even in places where the flames had subsided, authorities warned of toxic emissions that also affected running water, since the fires had produced poisonous gases. And many simply did not have a home to return to, so authorities were preparing to house them in hotels and vacation rentals.
The fire that tore through the century-old town of Lahaina on Tuesday destroyed nearly every building in the town of 13,000 people. and left a grid of gray rubble between the blue ocean and the green hills. That fire was 85% contained, according to the county, while the Upcountry fire was 60% contained.
“There’s very little left here,” Gov. Josh Green said, holding up a map of the area captioned “Buildings Damaged in Fires in Maui’s Lahaina Area.”
Sniffer dog teams had covered just 3 percent of the search area, Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said Saturday.
When the teams “find scenes in homes or businesses, it is very difficult for them because they ultimately know that they will tell our people that there have been more deaths. I’m counting on the numbers to go up,” Green said.
The cause of the fires was being investigated, and Green said authorities would also review their response to the disaster. For example, a focus had been considered extinct but was later revived.
In the hours before the fire that swept through Lahaina, authorities Maui County did not activate the sirens that would have alerted the entire population, and instead opted for social media posts. Service cuts in the electrical and cellular networks further complicated communications.
Asked why the sirens on the island did not sound, the senator for the state of HawaiiMazie Hirono, responded on Sunday that she would wait for the results of the investigation announced by the attorney general of that state, Anne Lopez.
“I’m not going to give any excuse for this tragedy,” the Democrat said on CNN’s “State of the Union” space.
“As for me, we are focused on the need for rescue, and sadly, on locating more bodies,” added the congresswoman.
Hawaii Fire – AP
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The fire impacted or destroyed more than 2,200 structures in Lahaina, and official losses are estimated at $5.5 billion, not counting the thousands left homeless.
Asked why the sirens on the island did not sound, the senator for the state of HawaiiMazie Hirono, responded on Sunday that she would wait for the results of the investigation announced by the attorney general of that state, Anne Lopez.
“I’m not going to give any excuse for this tragedy,” the Democrat said on CNN’s “State of the Union” space.
“As for me, we are focused on the need for rescue, and sadly, on locating more bodies,” added the congresswoman.
The fire impacted or destroyed more than 2,200 structures in Lahaina, and official losses are estimated at $5.5 billion, not counting the thousands left homeless.
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Alan Dickar via AP
too hot
The flames, fanned by a dry summer and high winds from a nearby hurricane, moved rapidly through dry patches of brush and at one point were traveling about a mile per minute, according to Green.
“Ultimately, with those kinds of winds and temperatures of 1,000 degrees (about 500 degrees Celsius), those images that you will see will be easy to understand,” he said.
It is the deadliest natural disaster in the archipelago in decades, surpassing the 1960 tsunami that left 61 dead. It also surpassed the Camp Fire in 2018, which killed 85 and destroyed the town of Paradise.
Maria Lanakila Church in Lahaina was spared from the flames that engulfed most of the town, but as search-and-rescue efforts continued, parishioners attended a roadside mass Sunday. The Rev. Clarence “Larry” Silva, Bishop of Honolulu, presided over the ceremony.
Taufa Samisoni said her uncle, her aunt, her cousin and her cousin’s seven-year-old son had been found dead in a burned-out car. Samisoni’s wife, Katalina, said the family found comfort in Silva’s reference to the biblical story of how Peter, a disciple of Jesus, had walked on water and was saved from drowning.
“If Pedro can walk on water, we can. We will reach the shore, ”she said in a broken voice.
Hawaii fire – AP
Tiffany Kidder Winn via AP
During the mass, Silva read a message from Pope Francis, who said he prayed for those who had lost loved ones, homes and livelihoods. He also included emergency workers in his prayers.
Meanwhile, authorities in Hawaii urged tourists to avoid traveling to Maui, where many hotels were preparing to accommodate evacuees and emergency personnel.
Green said 500 hotel rooms would be offered for local displaced people. Another 500 rooms would be reserved for workers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Some hotels would continue to operate as normal to help preserve jobs and maintain the local economy, Green said.
The state wants to work with Airbnb to make sure residents can access rental housing.
JP Mayoga, cook at the Westin Maui in Kaanapali, continued to cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But instead of hotel guests, he was feeding the approximately 200 hotel employees and their families who have been living there since Tuesday.
His house and his father’s were spared from the flames. But his girlfriend, his two young daughters, his father and someone else from the area were staying together in a hotel room because it was safer than Lahaina, which was covered in toxic waste.
“Everyone has their story and everyone lost something. So everyone can be there for each other, and understand what’s going on in each other’s lives,” he said of his coworkers at the hotel.
Hawaii – fires / AP
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Hawaii Fire – AP
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Rescue team – fire – Hawaii – AP
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FOUNTAIN: With information from AP/AFP
