Maui wildfire death toll climbs to 67, with 1,500 still missing

12 August 2023 , 00:24

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Many people have been rendered homeless and are desperately searching for loved ones in Maui after the wild fires (Image: HAWAII WING CIVIL AIR PATROL/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

The death toll in Maui rose to 67 on Friday as officials confirmed another 12 fatalities in the hellish blaze in Hawaii that has made hundreds homeless after it ripped through homes on the island.

The blaze has turned large swaths of a centuries-old town to ashes. The wildfires are the state’s deadliest natural disaster since a 1960 tsunami killed 61 people. Residents of the capital, Lahaina, are being allowed to return home for the first time to assess the damage.

Governor Josh Green said: “Lahaina, with a few rare exceptions, has been burned down. Without a doubt, it feels like a bomb was dropped on Lahaina.”

"The recovery is going to be extraordinarily complicated, but we do want people to get back to their homes and just do what they can to assess safely because it’s pretty dangerous,” he told Hawaii News Now.

An aerial image taken on August 10, 2023 shows destroyed homes and buildings burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii

Fuelled by a dry summer and strong winds from a passing hurricane, the fire started on Tuesday and took Maui by surprise, racing through parched brush covering the island and then flattening homes and anything else that lay in its path.

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Maui County officials said in an online statement that firefighters continued to battle the blaze, which was not yet fully contained. Many residents have been left with nothing more than the clothes on their backs.

Lahaina resident Kyle Scharnhorst said: “It hit so quick, it was incredible. It was like a war zone.”

Maui residents who escaped have asked why Hawaii’s emergency sirens did not alert them as the flames raced toward their homes. Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that the warning system was triggered before a devastating wildfire wiped out the historic town of Lahaina, officials confirmed.

The hall of historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission engulfed in flames along Wainee Street on Tuesday, Aug. 8 (AP)

Hawaii boasts what the state describes as the largest single outdoor all-hazard public safety warning system in the world, with about 400 sirens positioned across the island chain.

But many of Lahaina’s survivors said they did not hear any sirens and only realised they were in danger when they saw flames or heard explosions nearby.

“There was no warning. There was absolutely none. Nobody came around. We didn’t see a fire truck or anybody," said Lynn Robinson, who lost her home in the fire.

Instead, officials sent alerts to mobile phones, televisions, and radio stations — but widespread power and cellular outages may have limited their reach.

Gov. Josh Green has warned that the death toll would likely rise as search and rescue operations continue.

Lucy Williamson