More than 2,200 structures were damaged or destroyed when the fire tore through Lahaina, official estimates have caused $5.5 billion in damage and left thousands homeless.
Hawaiian authorities have launched an investigation into the handling of the fire, with residents saying there was no warning.
“The mountain behind us caught fire and no one warned us,” said Vilma Reed. AFP.
“You know when we found out there was a fire? When it was in front of us.”
Reed, whose home was destroyed by the fire, said she depends on donations and the kindness of strangers.
“This is my house now,” the 63-year-old said, pointing to the car she slept in with her daughter, grandson and two cats.
Lahaina, a town of more than 12,000 people and former home of Hawaii’s royal family, has been reduced to rubble, its bustling hotels and restaurants turned to ashes.
A banyan tree at the center of the community for 150 years has been scarred by the flames but still stands, its branches bare and its soot-covered trunk transformed into a clumsy skeleton.
Deadliest in a century
Maui County said in a Saturday night update that the number of confirmed deaths has risen to 93 from 89.
Governor Josh Green had warned that the official death toll was set to rise.
“It’s going to keep going up. We want to prepare people for that,” he said.
The new toll makes the fire the deadliest in the United States since 1918, when 453 people died in Minnesota and Wisconsin, according to the nonprofit research group National Fire Protection Association.
The death toll surpassed that of Camp Fire in California in 2018, which all but wiped the small town of Paradise off the map and killed 86 people.
Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said only a small portion of the disaster area was searched and only two victims were identified due to the severity of their burns.
“The remains we find are from a fire that melted metal,” he said. “We need to do fast DNA to identify each one of them.
“When we pick up the remains… they fall apart.”
Firefighters were battling at least one other blaze in Maui Saturday night, in the mountainous interior backcountry.
The Pulehu/Kihei fire in the south was declared 100% under control on Saturday evening.
“Underestimated lethality”
Hawaii Congresswoman Jill Tokuda said CNN that those responsible had been taken by surprise by the tragedy.
“We underestimated the lethality, the speed of fire,” she said.
Green, the governor, defended the immediate response, saying the situation had been complicated by multiple fires and strong winds.
“Having seen this storm, we doubt much could have been done with a blazing, fast fire like that,” he said.
Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez said her office would review “critical decision-making and ongoing policies before, during and after the wildfires on the islands of Maui and Hawaii this week.”
Maui suffered numerous power outages during the crisis, preventing many residents from receiving emergency alerts on their cellphones — something Tokuda said officials should have been prepared for.
No emergency sirens sounded, and many Lahaina residents said they learned of the fire from neighbors running down the street.
“We have to make sure we do better,” added Tokuda.
In its emergency management plan last year, the state of Hawaii described the wildfire risk to people as “low”.
The Maui fires follow other extreme weather events across North America this summer, with record wildfires still burning across Canada and a major heat wave hitting the southwestern United States.
Europe and parts of Asia have also suffered high temperatures, with major fires and floods wreaking havoc. Scientists say human-caused global warming is exacerbating natural hazards, making them more likely and deadlier.
‘To understand’
For many of those who fled the flames, the misery was compounded on Saturday as they were prevented from returning home.
Maui police said members of the public would not be allowed into Lahaina — even some who could prove they lived there.
“If your home or former home is in the affected area, you will not be allowed to (enter) until the affected area has been declared safe,” a press release read.
“Anyone who enters the disaster area … is liable to a misdemeanor punishable by one year in prison and a fine of $2,000.”
Some residents waited at a roadblock for hours hoping to be allowed to comb through the ashes or search for missing pets or loved ones.
Then suddenly the way was blocked, BNC News reported.
“How are people supposed to get there? Those damn roads are closed,” said Lahaina resident Daniel Rice.
“Get some authority there. Understand it. It’s nonsense.”
