The verified death toll from the Maui wildfires has increased from 55 to 67, according to officials in Hawaii. In a statement posted online, Maui County notes that while the Lahaina fire is still burning, firefighting efforts are still ongoing.
For the first time since flames left major portions of the centuries-old town of Lahaina into a hellscape of charred rubble, residents were permitted to return home on Friday.
automobiles in flames being crushed by fallen telephone poles. As a reminder of the burned-out apartment complexes they previously served, charred lift shafts remain. pools with water that is a dark charcoal colour. Children’s scooters and trampolines were damaged by the intense heat.
On Front Street in Lahaina, which serves as both the social and commercial centre of Maui, practically every building was reduced to rubble as seen by Associated Press journalists, who also witnessed the damage. The roosters that are rumoured to prowl the streets of Hawaii meandered around the charred remains of what was left, including an unsettling traffic jam of numerous cars that perished in the conflagration.
Kyle Scharnhorst, a resident of Lahaina, stated as he examined the damage to his apartment complex in the morning, “It hit so quick, it was incredible.” “It was just like a war zone.”
The wildfires are the state’s biggest natural disaster since the Big Island was hit by a tsunami in 1946, which claimed more than 150 lives. The territory-wide emergency system, which includes sirens and is tested on a regular basis for readiness, was created in response to the tsunami.
However, many fire survivors claimed in interviews that they had no prior warning of impending danger, no alarms to alert them, and only became aware of it when they saw flames or heard explosions close by.
“There was no announcement. There was none at all. Nobody approached. Nobody or a fire truck were seen, according to Lynn Robinson, whose house was destroyed in the blaze.
There is no evidence in Hawaii’s emergency management files that warning sirens sounded before people had to flee for their lives. Officials instead sent out alerts via radio, television, and mobile devices, albeit their reach may have been constrained by severe power and cellular disruptions.
Governor Josh Green issued a warning, predicting that the death toll would probably increase as search and rescue efforts went on. On Saturday, there will be a curfew in effect from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m.
“The recovery’s going to be extraordinarily complicated, but we do want people to get back to their homes and just do what they can to assess safely, because it’s pretty dangerous,” Green said to Hawaii News Now.
At least three wildfires broke out on Maui this week, racing through the island’s parched bush due to a dry summer and strong winds from a passing hurricane.
The worst of them struck Lahaina on Tuesday, leaving it a grid of grey rubble sandwiched between the azure sea and lush green mountains. Building skeletons buckled beneath roofs that collapsed in the fire. The smell of burning persisted, boats in the harbour were charred, and palm trees were set on fire.
According to projections by Karen Clark & Company, a renowned disaster and risk modelling firm, the wildfire is already anticipated to be the second-most expensive disaster in Hawaii history, after only Hurricane Iniki in 1992.
