Hawaii wildfires death toll hits 96, expected to rise

The death toll from the catastrophic and historic wildfire that destroyed most of Lahaina, Hawaii, last week has risen to 96, with officials warning that the number will increase as crews continue to search through charred remains of buildings.

The fire in Lahaina is now the deadliest American wildfire in over 100 years of modern US history, with more than 5,000 structures being damaged or destroyed. In a Facebook post, officials said that of the affected buildings, nearly 90 percent have been reported as residential structures. According to the Pacific Disaster Center, at least 2,170 acres have been burned, and the damage is estimated to be more than $5.5 billion.

State and local officials have been providing updates since the fire raged through Lahaina last week, and on Saturday, they said fire crews were continuing to extinguish flare-ups in the Lahaina and Upcountry Maui fires. Three buildings in Olinda and 16 in Kula were destroyed in the Upcountry Maui fire.

Officials said the American Red Cross emergency evacuation shelter at Maui High School in Kahului is being moved on Sunday to the South Maui Gymnasium in Kihei. Activities at Kihei Regional Park have now been canceled due to the gym being used as the new evacuation shelter.

About 180 people staying in emergency evacuation shelters were able to obtain driver’s licences and state identification cards, and fees to obtain those had been waived.

It’s still unknown how the fires started. But when they did ignite, extremely dry conditions combined with 70- to 80-mph wind gusts fueled the flames as they spread rapidly.

Hawaiian Electric has been working to restore power, and company officials have not addressed questions on whether a utility line contributed to any of the fires. Instead, company officials directed Fox Weather to a statement regarding ongoing outages, saying they have “all hands on deck in supporting and responding to Maui communities affected by the outages, active wildfires, and sustained high wind damage.”

Large Xs now mark mailboxes and cars to let rescue teams know if those places had been searched for bodies, and a significant number of remains were discovered in Lahaina, according to officials.

“This crisis is far from over,” said Hawaii’s former US Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. “There’s so much frustration. There’s so much suffering. The real mourning has not even been able to begin to start because of people really looking to, ‘How do I get me and my family to tomorrow?’” (Fox Weather)

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