Emergency response questioned as Hawaii residents survey wildfire ruins
Death toll hits 89, making it the deadliest U.S. wildfire in recent history and exceeding that of a 2018 wildfire in California that claimed 85 lives
By Reis Thebault, David J. Lynch and Anumita Kaur
Updated August 12, 2023 at 9:15 p.m. EDT|Published August 12, 2023 at 8:04 p.m. EDT
Paul Romero and Kasidee Rose hand out gasoline in the restricted fire zone area in a parking lot Saturday in Napili, Hawaii. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)
Listen
Share
Comment
Add to your saved stories
Save
LAHAINA, Hawaii — Days after devastating wildfires tore across the island of Maui, the death toll rose to 89 on Saturday as volunteers mobilized to care for survivors and criticism swelled over the government’s response to the tragedy.
Residents of Lahaina, the historic former Hawaiian capital that became an inferno, criticized what they called inadequate warnings of the sudden firestorm and said they are now being left to fend for themselves in its wake.
Hawaii utility faces scrutiny for not cutting power to reduce fire risks
“I feel like the citizens of this island have been called upon, maybe by a higher power, to actually help because no one else is helping,” said Kai Lenny, a professional surfer.
Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez (D) said her department will launch “a comprehensive review of critical decision-making and standing policies leading up to, during and after the wildfires.”
Story continues below advertisement
Officials have already said they expect the death toll to rise once rescue crews have a chance to take stock of those who perished in homes, apartments, hotels and other structures.
At least 1,000 people have been reported missing since the wildfires, Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) told The Washington Post on Saturday.
Skip to end of carousel
Live updates on Hawaiian wildfires
Wildfires across Hawaii have killed more than 50 people, displaced hundreds of families and trapped thousands of tourists. These maps show where the wildfires are burning. As blazes continue, follow live updates.
End of carousel
The number of fatalities here hit 89, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green (D) said late Saturday. The toll has surpassed that of the 2018 Camp Fire in California, which claimed 85 lives. Hawaii’s governor has said that a final tally might not be available for a week or longer. A canine search team and other rescue workers are now in Maui, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Saturday.
How the Maui fires compare with some of the deadliest U.S. wildfires
Meanwhile, wide swaths of west Maui remain without power. While some areas have running water, it’s been days since most people have taken a hot shower.
Communication in this part of the island remains a major challenge, hampering aid efforts and rendering reunification for affected families difficult. Recent days have brought blistering heat, adding to the human misery in sweltering neighborhoods where few have access to air conditioning.
Cora Hyland helps set up tents outside the home of Paul Romero in Kihei for people displaced by the wildfires. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)
As firefighters continued battling the remnants of the wildfires, Maui County officials said that more than 1,400 people have taken refuge in emergency shelters. Officials are urging survivors to drink only bottled water. Parts of the municipal water systems in Upper Kula, in a region known as Upcountry because of its high elevation, and Lahaina, on the island’s west side, were destroyed by the fire. That may have caused benzene — a carcinogen — to contaminate local tap water.
Story continues below advertisement
The fire damaged or destroyed 2,207 structures, the vast majority of which were homes, according to a joint assessment by the Pacific Disaster Center and FEMA. The estimated cost to rebuild this town alone stands at $5.5 billion. That figure is likely to rise.
While the immediate danger is past, Lahaina remains “barricaded,” according to county officials, who advised people to stay out of the area because of “toxic particles from smoldering areas.”
After five hours in ocean, Maui fire survivor is ‘blessed to be alive’
U.S. Coast Guard cutters and rescue helicopters saved 17 lives and assisted 40 other survivors in reaching shore. FEMA said it has 150 personnel on the ground, including search-and-rescue teams, with more on the way.
Story continues below advertisement
Late Friday, firefighters battled flare-ups in Lahaina, the Pulehu/Kihei area and Upcountry Maui, officials said. Near a county fueling station in Kaʻanapali, on the west side of Maui, a new fire erupted at 6:10 p.m. on Friday, prompting renewed evacuations. It was reported 100 percent contained before 8:30 p.m., according to Maui County officials.
As of Saturday morning local time, fire crews had contained all the fires on the island of Hawaii, Hawaii County spokesman Cyrus Johnasen said in an email to The Post. Fire crews on the island are now focused on “mop-up” efforts, Johnasen said.
The fire near Kaʻanapali led officials on Saturday to cancel plans to distribute an estimated 3,000 gallons of gas and 500 gallons of diesel for roughly 400 vehicles that were already in line there.
Paul Romero heads to a road closure with his truck loaded with jugs of gasoline to hand out to people in the fire zone areas as they prepare to leave on Saturday in Maui County. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)
A volunteer relief effort led by Native Hawaiians has emerged to shuttle supplies to the disaster zone. An impromptu flotilla of cruisers and catamarans carrying supplies such as generators, propane tanks, clothing and ready-to-eat meals reached the beach in Kahana, just north of Maui’s hardest-hit areas.
Story continues below advertisement
In the days since ferocious wildfires tore through Maui, residents have said they received little help from the county and state, small government entities that are overmatched by the scale of the disaster.
Native Hawaiians organize aid for Maui fire victims as government lags
Lenny, the professional surfer, said state health officials had blocked his efforts to ship 100 pounds of insulin by air from the island of Kona to Maui, saying it had not been properly authorized. “It’s ironic that the people that we put into government to actually help us are making it more difficult for us to even just help ourselves,” he said.
The president of the Hawaii Firefighters Association said firefighters felt “overwhelmed” with the resourcing challenges they’ve faced on Maui over the last several days.
Story continues below advertisement
Bobby Lee confirmed that at least 15 firefighters had lost their homes as of Saturday. The association has been working with these firefighters to find them temporary housing, he told The Post. At least 40 firefighters from Honolulu have been sent to Maui to help mitigate the wildfires, Lee added, and he anticipates more will come.
Share this article
No subscription required to read
Share
This week’s catastrophe was anticipated.
County officials were warned three years ago that the area was susceptible to damaging wildfires. A hazard mitigation plan prepared by an outside consultant said that Maui County experienced 80 significant fires between 1999 and 2019 and would likely see many more.
Maui fires not just due to climate change but a ‘compound disaster’
West Maui, where Lahaina is located, was judged to be at “high” risk, according to the August 2020 assessment by Jamie Caplan Consulting in Northampton, Mass.
Story continues below advertisement
“Wildfire events will continue to be an ongoing occurrence in Maui County. The likelihood of wildfires increases during drought cycles and abnormally dry conditions. Dry, windy conditions with an accumulation of vegetative fuel can create conditions for a fire that spreads quickly. Wildfires could become more frequent in the future as drought conditions become more frequent and more intense with climate change,” said the 1,043-page report.
The state of Hawaii “underestimated the lethality, the quickness of fire,” Rep. Jill N. Tokuda (D-Hawaii) told CNN on Saturday. Officials failed to plan for problems with the state’s emergency alert system, the congresswoman said, adding that lawmakers “have got to make sure that we do better.”
Compounding the loss of life is the devastation of some of Lahaina’s cultural icons, such as the Baldwin Home Museum, the oldest house in Maui.
Destroyed Lahaina was once Hawaiian Kingdom’s capital, global trade hub
Lahaina’s popularity as a tourist destination for beachgoers and surfers has overshadowed, at least to tourists, the city’s centuries-old historic and cultural significance, said David Aiona Chang, a professor and Native Hawaiian historian at the University of Minnesota. To Hawaiians, Lahaina is a historic city whose legacy includes artifacts that have helped preserve the hula dance form and revitalize the Hawaiian language.
Story continues below advertisement
Some residents had a small window to return home. As the state briefly reopened the road to west Maui for locals, Lahaina residents dug through the ashes of their houses to recover anything that might have survived the firestorm: Molten cars, charred phones, a burned page from a yearbook.
Born and raised in the city, Cole Loewen spent the night at the airport watching wildfires consume it. The wreckage was “the saddest thing I’d ever seen in my life,” he said.
Press Enter to skip to end of carousel
More on the raging Hawaii wildfires
Live updates: Death toll from Maui wildfires rises to 89, officials say
Death toll from Maui wildfires rises to 89, officials say
Emergency response questioned as Hawaii residents survey wildfire ruins
Emergency response questioned as Hawaii residents survey wildfire ruins
What we know about the cause of the Maui wildfires
What we know about the cause of the Maui wildfires
These maps show where wildfires are burning in Hawaii
These maps show where wildfires are burning in Hawaii
Hawaii utility faces scrutiny for not cutting power to reduce fire risks
Hawaii utility faces scrutiny for not cutting power to reduce fire risks
Maui fires not just due to climate change but a ‘compound disaster’
Maui fires not just due to climate change but a ‘compound disaster’
Native Hawaiians organize aid for Maui fire victims as government lags
Native Hawaiians organize aid for Maui fire victims as government lags
See the historic sites of Lahaina before and after the Maui wildfires
See the historic sites of Lahaina before and after the Maui wildfires
After 5 hours in ocean, Maui fire survivor feels ‘blessed to be alive’
After 5 hours in ocean, Maui fire survivor feels ‘blessed to be alive’
Photos: The scene as deadly wildfires devastate parts of Hawaii
Photos: The scene as deadly wildfires devastate parts of Hawaii
Hawaii officials warn final count will take time as death toll in Maui reaches 67
Hawaii officials warn final count will take time as death toll in Maui reac...
How the Maui fires compare with some of the deadliest US wildfires
How the Maui fires compare with some of the deadliest US wildfires
Cascading environmental impacts feared from ‘wasteland’ of Maui fires
Cascading environmental impacts feared from ‘wasteland’ of Maui fires
Lost in the Maui fire: Hawaii’s oldest inn and its restaurant
Lost in the Maui fire: Hawaii’s oldest inn and its restaurant
Maui wildfires death toll rises to 55; rebuilding will cost billions, governor says
Maui wildfires death toll rises to 55; rebuilding will cost billions, gover...
End of carousel
“Whatever you guys think it is, multiply it by 10,” Loewen told The Post. “It’s like ‘The Walking Dead.’”
Wela Espiritu, another resident, said Maui could not wait for government assistance. Members of the community rallied to provide necessities including bottled water, food and toiletries to residents. Medical services were also available on scene.
Story continues below advertisement
“Without medication, it goes into emergency mode, and we need an ambulance, we need hospitals,” said Kari Wheeling of the Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawaii. “What we’re trying to do is prevent that.”
The situation here will remain dire for some time.
Remains from wildfire are pictured at Waikuli Terrace in Lahaina on Friday. (Mengshin Lin for The Washington Post/For The Washington Post)
Hawaiian Electric, the utility that oversees Maui Electric and provides service to 95 percent of the state’s residents, warned on Friday that some customers in west Maui should “prepare for extended outages that could last several weeks.”
The utility said it had fielded 300 employees and contractors to repair transmission lines and restore power. Crews were continuing to assess the scale of the job by helicopter, the utility said.
The initial source or sources of the wildfires have not been determined. But some have noted that before the blaze, however, Hawaiian Electric, did not implement what’s known as a “public power shut-off plan,” intentionally cutting off electricity to areas where strong winds could spark fires. A number of states, including California, have adopted this technique following deadly fires in recent years.
Hawaiian Electric was aware that a power shut-off was an effective strategy, documents show, but had not adopted it as part of its fire mitigation plans, according to the company and two former power and energy officials interviewed by The Post.
Hawaii utility faces scrutiny for not cutting power to reduce fire risks
Hawaiian Electric rejected suggestions that it could have done more to protect public safety. Utility executives generally are reluctant to shut down power, since it disrupts lives and generates political blowback, especially if the anticipated wind event does not trigger fires.
As the air remains acrid with the smell of smoke, some here are beginning to imagine recovery.
Iokepa Naeole’s home and family survived the fires — he lives in Wailuku — but he works in now-charred parts of west Maui. Naeole takes vacationers out on his outrigger canoe for tours while explaining the Native culture.
Tourism officials are discouraging nonessential travel to the island. The places Naeole shows visitors are now evacuation sites and distribution centers for the displaced.
He wonders about the island’s future.
“What would we imagine Lahaina to look like 20 years from today? Do we still want the visitor industry to be the economic engine? And if so, could Native Hawaiians have a say on what that industry should look like? Because what was, wasn’t working for us,” he said.
Some Hawaiians in recent years have protested what they say is excessive tourism. To Naeole, the fire could be both “the worst natural disaster of our lifetime” and also “the greatest opportunity of our lifetime.”
Rather than rebuild Lahaina exactly as it was, Hawaiians should learn from the example of other countries that rely on tourism without allowing their Native cultures to be overwhelmed, such as Iceland, Norway or Palau, he said.
“The world will be watching,” he said. “And it will be up to us to show them how our world is supposed to abe.”
Lynch and Kaur reported from Washington. Brianna Sacks in Lahaina, Hawaii; Kelly Kasulis Cho, Niha Masih and Andrew Jeong in Seoul; Victoria Bisset and Adela Suliman in London; and Andrea Salcedo, Justine McDaniel, Elahe Izadi, Camila DeChalus and Kyle Rempfer in Washington contributed to this report.
Wildfires in Hawaii
What’s happening: More than 70 people have died in the wake of wildfires burning in Hawaii. Blazes are raging across Maui and have also been reported on the islands of Hawai’i and Oahu. Follow live updates.
How did the fires start? It’s still unclear exactly what triggered the wildfires across the islands, but the spread of flammable nonnative grasses combined with hurricane-stoked winds could have been factors. Here’s what we know about conditions in Hawaii.
What areas have been impacted? Fires are burning across multiple Hawaiian islands — these maps show where. The town of Lahaina on the island of Maui has suffered widespread damage, and historic landmarks across the island are in danger. These photos show the extent of the blaze.
Can I help? Thousands of residents and visitors have been forced to evacuate. Many organizations are accepting donations to help those affected by the wildfires, while airlines have started offering fares as low as $19 to get people off the island.
Show more
Share
No comments:
Post a Comment