Death Toll Climbs to 80 in Devastating Wildfires: Hawaii Survivors witnessed a surreal landscape of flattened homes, blackened hulks of burned-out vehicles, and ashy lots where buildings once stood as they assessed their shattered lives in the aftermath of a fast-moving wildfire on the island of Maui, Hawaii, that authorities estimate killed at least 80 people.
Anthony Garcia surveyed the devastation as he stood beneath Lahaina’s emblematic banyan tree, which had been charred, and swept twisted branches into neat piles next to a heap of deceased animals: cats, roosters, and other birds killed by the smoke and flames. In a world turned upside-down, it made perfect logic.
“If I don’t do something, I’ll go insane,” said Garcia, who had lost all of his possessions. “I’m losing my faith in God.”
Garcia and other residents were confronted with catastrophic destruction as a result of the wildfires that ravaged portions of Maui this week and were not contained as of Friday night.
Friday at 9 p.m., Maui County increased the number of confirmed fatalities to 80. As search and rescue operations continue, Governor Josh Green warned that the death toll will likely escalate. Saturday’s curfew is in effect from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Green told Hawaii News Now, “The recovery will be extraordinarily complicated, but we do want people to return to their homes and do what they can to assess the situation safely.”
Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen Jr. said that cadaver-sniffing canines were used to locate the deceased.
Kaanapali in West Maui, a community northeast of the previously charred area, was evacuated Friday evening due to a new wildfire, but crews were able to extinguish the blaze by 8:30 p.m., according to authorities.
Death Toll Climbs to 80 in Devastating Wildfires: Tragedy in Maui
Attorney General Anne Lopez announced plans to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the decision-making processes and existing policies affecting the response to the deadly wildfires.
Lopez said in a statement, “My Department is committed to understanding the decisions made before and during the wildfires and to sharing the results of this review with the public.”
The wildfires are the state’s deadliest natural catastrophe in decades, surpassing the 1960 tsunami, which claimed the lives of 61 individuals. A tsunami that killed more than 150 people on the Big Island in 1946 prompted the development of a territory-wide emergency system with monthly test sirens.
Many fire survivors reported that they did not hear any sirens or receive a warning that gave them sufficient time to prepare; they only realised they were in peril when they saw or heard flames or explosions.
“There was no warning,” said Lynn Robinson, whose residence was destroyed.
The records of Hawaii’s emergency management do not indicate that warning sirens sounded before people were forced to flee for their lives. Officials sent alerts to mobile phones, televisions, and radio stations; however, pervasive power outages and cellular service disruptions may have limited their reach.
At least three wildfires, fueled by a dry summer and strong gusts from a passing hurricane, erupted on Maui, tearing through the island’s parched vegetation.
The most severe fire swept through Lahaina on Tuesday, leaving a grid of grey debris wedged between the ocean and the verdant slopes. Journalists from the Associated Press discovered that nearly every building on Front Street, the centre of historic Lahaina and the economic hub of Maui, was destroyed.
As surviving roosters wandered through the ashes, there was a spooky traffic jam of charred vehicles that did not escape the blaze. The skeletal remains of structures leaned beneath the flaming roofs. The palm trees were set ablaze, the harbor’s boats were scorched, and the odour of burning persisted.
As he surveyed the damage to his apartment complex, Kyle Scharnhorst remarked, “It hit so fast, it was incredible.”
Summer and Gilles Gerling attempted to salvage mementos from their home’s remains. They could only locate the savings bank Summer Gerling’s father had given her as a child, their daughter’s jade bracelet, and the wedding gifts they had given each other. Their wedding bands had vanished.
They described their dread as the smoke and flames grew closer, but expressed their gratitude for escaping the fire with their two children.
“Safety was the top priority. All of these are material objects, said Gilles Gerling.
According to disaster and risk modelling firm Karen Clark & Company, the wildfire is already projected to be the second-costliest calamity in Hawaii’s history, after Hurricane Iniki in 1992. The fire is the deadliest in the United States since the 2018 Camp Fire in California, which destroyed the town of Paradise and killed at least 85 people.
Maui’s dangers were well-known. Updated in 2020, the hazard mitigation plan for Maui County identified Lahaina and other West Maui communities as having frequent wildfires and numerous at-risk structures. West Maui had the second-greatest rate of households without a vehicle and the highest rate of non-English speakers on the island, according to the report.
The plan stated, “This may hinder the population’s ability to receive, comprehend, and take swift action during hazardous events.”
The firefighting efforts on Maui may have been hampered by a lack of personnel and apparatus.
Bobby Lee, president of the Hawaii Firefighters Association, stated that there are a maximum of 65 county firefighters responsible for Maui, Molokai, and Lanai at any given time.
He stated that the department has approximately thirteen fire engines and two ladder trucks, but no off-road vehicles to combat brush fires entirely before they reach roads or populated areas.
Maui water officials warned residents of Kula and Lahaina not to consume the tap water, as it may be contaminated even after boiling, and to take only brief, lukewarm showers in well-ventilated rooms to avoid chemical vapour exposure.
Andrew Whelton, a professor of engineering at Purdue University whose team assisted with the Camp Fire and Colorado’s 2021 Marshall Fire, stated that showering in water that may contain hazardous waste levels of benzene is not recommended and that a do-not-use order is warranted until analysis is complete.
Lana Vierra, a Lahaina resident who filled out FEMA assistance forms at a relative’s home on Friday, fled Tuesday and was anxious to return, despite knowing that her home, where she raised five children, and cherished items such as baby pictures and yearbooks were destroyed.
“To actually stand on your burned land and formulate a plan for moving forward — I believe that will bring families peace,” she said.
Riley Curran stated that he departed his Front Street residence after climbing a neighbouring structure for a better view. Given the pace of the advancing fire, he doubts that county officials could have done more.
Curran stated, “It’s not that people didn’t try to do anything.” “The fire went from 0 to 100.”
Growing up in California, Curran witnessed horrific wildfires, but “I’ve never seen one devour an entire town in four hours.”
