13 August 2023 , 16:27
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Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his fiancée Lauren Sánchez have pledged $100million (£80m) to support recovery efforts in Hawaii which has been devastated by wildfires.
The couple announced the pledge on Instagram on Saturday. Lauren wrote: “Jeff and I are heartbroken by what’s happening in Maui. We are thinking of all the families that have lost so much and a community that has been left devastated.
“Jeff and I are creating a Maui Fund and are dedicating $100million to help Maui get back on its feet now and over the coming years as the continuing needs reveal themselves.”
The number of confirmed deaths from the Maui wildfires had risen to 93, making it the deadliest US wildfire in more than 100 years. Crews with cadaver dogs have covered just three per cent of the search area, Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said.
Authorities warned that the effort to find and identify the dead is still in its early stages (AFP via Getty Images)There were 2,200 structures destroyed or damaged just in West Maui, and 86% of those were residential buildings. Governor Josh Green said “the losses approach $6billion in estimate", adding that it would take “an incredible amount of time" to recover.
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Fuelled by a dry summer and strong winds from a passing hurricane, the wildfires on Maui raced through parched brush covering the island. Hawaii emergency management records do not indicate the warning sirens sounded before the fire hit the town. Officials sent alerts to mobile phones, televisions and radio stations, but widespread power and cellular outages may have limited their reach.
The most serious blaze swept into Lahaina on Tuesday and destroyed nearly every building in the town of 13,000, leaving a grid of grey rubble wedged between the blue ocean and lush green slopes.
Burned cars and destroyed buildings are pictured in the aftermath of a wildfire in Lahaina, western Maui, Hawaii on August 10, 2023 (AFP via Getty Images)Maui water officials warned Lahaina and Kula residents not to drink running water, which may be contaminated even after boiling, and to only take short, lukewarm showers in well-ventilated rooms to avoid possible chemical vapour exposure.
Maui’s firefighting efforts may have been hampered by limited staff and equipment. Bobby Lee, president of the Hawaii Firefighters Association, said there are a maximum of 65 county firefighters working at any given time, who are responsible for three islands: Maui, Molokai and Lanai.
Destroyed buildings burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii (AFP via Getty Images)The wildfires are expected to be the second costliest disaster in the history of Hawaii, second only to damages from 1992's Hurricane Iniki, according to a Friday statement from a prominent disaster and risk modelling company.
Karen Clark & Company said in the statement that approximately 3,500 structures were within the perimeter of the fire that torched the popular tourist town of Lahaina in west Maui.
Bissen Jr. said Friday he couldn't comment on a report that the state's emergency management records showed no indication that warning sirens sounded off before people were forced to flee.
"I think this was an impossible situation," Bissen told NBC's Today show. "The fires came up so quickly and they spread so fast."