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The death toll from a historic fire that roared through this Maui community rose to 93 on Sunday as teams with cadaver dogs picked through the devastation, marking the remnants of homes with a bright orange «X» to signify they had been searched − and «HR» to announce where human remains had been found.
A police roadblock kept some residents out of Lahaina, largely destroyed by the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. More than 1,800 homes and structures were leveled, and hundreds of people were still missing. Maui Police Chief John Pelletier warned the search for the dead was far from over and that the death toll probably would rise.
More than 1,600 people are being housed in shelters, and possibly thousands need someplace to stay, Gov. Josh Green said. State agencies were coordinating with Maui County, the Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to move survivors into hotel rooms and vacation rentals, he said.
«Help is pouring in both locally and around the world as our hearts are with the people of Maui,» Green said in social media posts. «‘Mahalo’ (thank you) to the people on the ground working to bring our loved ones home.»
The death toll surpassed the fatalities in the Northern California’s Camp Fire in 2018. That blaze killed 85 and destroyed the town of Paradise.
∎Hawaiian Electric said it was working to restore power to the resort area so authorities can work with hotels and resorts to provide rooms for displaced residents.
∎At least two other fires also were burning on Maui. Damage to Lahaina and other towns in the path of fires that have swept across multiple Hawaiian islands was estimated at close to $6 billion, Green said. Sen. Hirono: No excuses for tragedy
Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, speaking Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union, addressed claims of residents who said they had little or no warning in the hours and minutes before the fires swept through their neighborhoods. Many locals said authorities were woefully unprepared for the disaster. The state attorney general’s review of the disaster will include a look at when sirens were sounded and other actions were taken, the Democrat said.
