So far 99 fatalities have been identified but number of dead is expected to rise as teams search devastated neighborhoods
Hawaii officials worked painstakingly to identify the 99 people confirmed killed in wildfires that ravaged Maui and expected to release the first names on Tuesday, even as teams intensified the search for more dead in neighborhoods reduced to ash.
A week after a blaze tore through historic Lahaina, many who survived have started moving into hundreds of hotel rooms set aside for displaced locals while donations of food, ice, water and other essentials have poured in.
Crews using cadaver dogs have scoured about 25% of the search area, the police chief said on Monday. Governor Josh Green asked for patience and space to do the search properly as authorities became overwhelmed with requests to visit the burn area.
“For those people who have walked into Lahaina because they really wanted to see, know that they’re very likely walking on iwi,” he said at a news conference on Maui, using the Hawaiian word for “bones”.
Just three bodies have been identified so far and officials will start releasing names on Tuesday, according to Maui’s police chief, John Pelletier, who renewed an appeal for families with missing relatives to provide DNA samples.
Green warned that scores more bodies could be found. The wildfires, some of which have not yet been fully contained, are already the deadliest in the US in more than a century. Their cause was under investigation.
Authorities paused a system that had allowed Lahaina residents and others to visit devastated areas with police permits. Kevin Eliason said when he was turned away, the line of cars with people waiting to get a placard had grown to at least 3 miles (5km) long.
“It’s a joke,” Eliason said. “It’s just crazy. They didn’t expect, probably, tens of thousands of people to show up there.”
The blaze that swept into centuries-old Lahaina last week destroyed nearly every building in the town of 13,000. That fire has been 85% contained, according to the county. Another blaze known as the Upcountry fire has been 65% contained.
Even where the fire has retreated, authorities have warned that toxic byproducts may remain, including in drinking water, after the flames spewed poisonous fumes. That has left many unable to return home.
