Authorities on Tuesday will start releasing names of people who lost their lives in the devastating fires that leveled parts of west Maui last week, officials said.
With 25% of the search area covered as of Monday, officials said at least 99 people were confirmed dead. That number will increase significantly, according to Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, who said children are among the hundreds missing. Crews continue to work their way through the ruins, accompanied by dogs that search for human remains.
Government officials have named multiple possible reasons for the fire, including global warming, but the cause remains under investigation. Green also told CNN he believes warning sirens may have failed because they could have been “immobilized” by high temperatures from the fires.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Monday it is dedicated to helping the west Maui community rebuild, even as private developers have started approaching residents with offers to buy the land where homes once stood.
Roadblocks are preventing some people from returning to the locations of their homes to assess the damage. Green said he does not want Maui residents to rush to return to damaged areas, citing safety concerns. Government officials said this week they are working to secure temporary housing for displaced people, as well as for emergency responders working in Maui.
As frustration mounts among longtime residents, Green said he wants “a lot of understanding about traveling into the zone where the fire occurred,” due to safety risks from partially collapsed buildings.
Latest developments:
◾ As of late Monday, the Lahaina fire was 85% contained, the Upcountry Maui fire was 65% contained and the Pulehu/Kihei fire was 100% contained but not yet extinguished.
◾ Green said about 450 hotel rooms and 1,000 vacation rentals were becoming available and that thousands of people will need housing for at least 36 weeks. “We want to get everyone out of all of the shelters by week’s end,” he told Hawaii News Now.
◾ The County of Maui said about 25% of the burn area has been searched, and officials expect the death toll to climb as crews clear more of the area.
◾ The South Korean government has pledged to send $2 million in humanitarian aid to Hawaii, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in a press release Tuesday. The aid will include supplies like water and food purchased through the Korean market and sent to Hawaii, and cash donated to local relief groups, the ministry said.
Weekend weather forecast: Storms expected in Maui
Stormy weather is forecast for the weekend in Maui, a mixed blessing for an island where fires are still burning. The expected rain could help douse them, but windy conditions − a major factor in last week’s devastating blaze in Lahaina − could contribute to the flames spreading. The weather could also impact search efforts.
“I want the rain, ironically, but that’s why we’re racing right now to do all the recovery that we can, because winds or heavy rain in that disaster setting, which it’s showing right now, it will make it even harder to get the final determination of who we lost,” Green said.
Officials are pondering whether to implement preemptive power shutoffs that may prevent another catastrophe but could also impact water pumps, hinder cleanup efforts and put those who rely on specialized medical equipment at risk.
The local power company has been criticized for not shutting off power last week as strong winds blew through a parched area under high fire risk, although it’s not known whether the utility’s equipment ignited the flames.
Victims’ names to be released once families are notified
The names of some people who died in the fires will be released after their families are notified, Maui Police Department Chief John Pelletier said Monday in a news conference.
Among those assisting in finding and identifying the dead are members of a special federal Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team, deployed by the Department of Health and Human Services. Other search-and-rescue teams from the mainland United States, including Colorado, Los Angeles and Indianapolis, have been sent and are picking their way through downed power lines, melted cars and collapsed buildings.
Maui fire death toll expected to rise in the coming days
Green said 99 deaths from the Maui fires have been confirmed. Approximately the first 80 bodies were found along Lahaina Town’s popular Front Street because that’s were many people initially fled to, said Green, who expects the fatality count to rise substantially.
“It’s a tragedy beyond tragedies,” Green told CNN.
Warning sirens believed to be ‘immobilized’ by heat, governor says
In the days after the massive fires swept across large swaths of west Maui, residents have demanded to know why Hawaii’s longtime hurricane and tsunami emergency warning system did not alert people to the fire.
“The sirens were essentially immobilized, we believe − we believe − by the extreme heat that came through,” Green said in a CNN interview Monday.
As part of the review of the how the emergency alert system responded to the fire, officials will take a look at testing that was done on the sirens in early August, Green said.
Contributing: Trevor Hughes, N’dea Yancey-Bragg and Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY
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