Hawaii wildfire death toll tops 100

KAHULUI, Hawaii – The number of people known to have died in the

horrific wildfire that levelled a Hawaiian town

hit 106 on Tuesday as a makeshift morgue was expanded to deal with the tragedy.

Governor Josh Green has repeatedly warned that the final count from last week’s inferno in Lahaina – already the deadliest United States wildfire in over a century – would grow significantly, urging Hawaiians to gird themselves for a number that could be two or three times its present level.

The survey of the burn areas is about one-third complete, with the Maui Emergency Management Agency estimating that it would cost US$5.52 billion (S$7.5 billion) to rebuild in Maui County.

Refrigerated containers were being used as makeshift morgues at the Maui Police Forensic Facility on Tuesday, an AFP journalist observed, as the largely rural island struggles to cope with the sheer number of dead.

President Joe Biden and the First Lady will visit the site of the disaster “in the coming weeks”, the Governor said, explaining that the President did not want to interfere with recovery efforts.

Mr Biden said earlier on Tuesday that he would travel to Hawaii “as soon as we can”.

The President’s announcement came after Republican criticism that he was not doing enough following the deadly blaze.

Mr Green warned against any attempt at a land grab in the devastated remains of Lahaina, as locals fret that deep-pocketed developers may take advantage of people’s desperation and try to buy up plots that can be turned into luxury housing or more lucrative short-term rentals.

“Our goal is to have a local commitment – forever – to this community, as we rebuild,” he said.

“So we will be making sure that we do all that we can to prevent that land from falling into the hands of people from the outside,” Mr Green said.

DNA identification

The difficult process of identifying the dead inched forward on Tuesday, with officials saying they had collected DNA samples from 41 people whose relatives were missing.

Officials have released the first names killed in the wildfire – Mr Robert Dyckman, 74, and Mr Buddy Jantoc, 79, both of Lahaina – with three other people identified, but their names are withheld pending notification of their family, officials said.

The island’s police chief has said that many of the bodies are so badly charred that they are unrecognisable – such was the ferocity of the blaze.

Stories of horrifying escapes continued to emerge, as did more accounts about the lack of official warning of the fast-moving blaze.

Ms Annelise Cochran, 30, told AFP she had felt reassured when officials said a small blaze in the hills had been contained on the morning of Aug 8.

But the fire suddenly and dramatically flared.

“We saw smoke billowing and the blue sky had turned a dark shade of brown, and the wind was whipping at about 80-plus miles an hour (130kmh). It was very, very fast (and) shocking to see.

“We saw flames, and we realised they were coming right for us,” she said, adding that no evacuation order had been issued.

After trying to flee by car, only to find her way blocked by vehicles abandoned by their terrified drivers, she decided the ocean offered her the only escape.

“We fully submerged ourselves into the water to get our faces down as much as we could, so that we were breathing only the air that was on the surface of the water, because the air got very acrid and horrible to breathe.”

It was hours before she was plucked from the water.

Toxic chemicals

Residents desperate to get back to check on the homes they fled have expressed frustration at bans that prevented people from getting into Lahaina.

Officials warned of the dangers of unstable buildings and potential airborne toxic chemicals in the area, and said on Monday that one arrest for trespassing had been made.

A police placard system that was supposed to identify people permitted to travel into Lahaina descended into chaos on Monday, when it was suspended an hour after starting.

“The miscommunication is abysmal – people are very angry and frustrated, and this is getting worse,” said Mr Stephen Van Bueren, 42, a local church pastor who waited for more than an hour to get a placard, without success.

Questions are being asked about the authorities’ preparedness and response to the catastrophe.

Some fire hydrants ran dry in the early stages of the wildfire, and multiple warning systems either failed or were not activated.

A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Hawaiian Electric, the state’s biggest power firm, claiming the company should have shut off its power lines to lower the risk of fire. AFP, NYTIMES