Brushfires in Maui cause evacuations near site of Lahaina wildfires that killed 115
On Maui, a wildfire broke out Saturday afternoon near the sites where many displaced Lahaina survivors are being temporarily housed, bringing flashbacks to the devastating fire in early August that took many of their homes.
On Saturday afternoon, Hawaii Governor Josh Green issued an area alert with an evacuation order for parts of Kaanapali — just one city away from Lahaina.
Evacuate your family and pets now, don’t wait any longer. Expect conditions that may make driving difficult and keep an eye out for public safety personnel operating in the area,” Green wrote in a follow-up warning.
At around 1:45 a.m. Saturday, the fire broke out near the Kaanapali resort, where many Lahaina families now reside.
At 2:45 p.m., a Maui County alert said firefighters on the scene had “halted the progress of the fire.” No additional threats or evacuation orders (sic) are in effect. We will provide updates as information becomes available.”
Smoke rises in the hills above the Kaanapali resort hotel area of Lahaina, Hawaii on Saturday, August 26, 2023. A wildfire on Saturday prompted Maui authorities to evacuate residents from a Lahaina neighborhood just a few miles from the site that recently was destroyed by fires
The evacuation order was lifted at 5 p.m., when the fire was 90 percent under control. Power was restored to the area around 7 p.m.
There are no reports of injuries or damage caused by the fire.
Lei Casco, 34, said Saturday’s warnings triggered her flight mode as she packed up her car, including her three crying children.
Casco and her extended family lost five apartments and one single-family home to the fire in Lahaina. She told Star advertiser that the weekend warnings and evacuation orders prompted “flashbacks and PTSD” to their experiences on August 8.
“My three boys were crying,” she said.
But once she and her children were out of harm’s way — the evacuees were told to go to Napili Park — her stress turned to anger at emergency authorities who managed to carry out an execution on Saturday that was nowhere to be found earlier this month .
“They turned on the sirens and cell phone alerts, which they didn’t when Lahaina caught fire,” Casco said. “But suddenly they’re doing it now.”
The weekend’s response was led by Darryl Oliveira, the interim interim director of the Maui Emergency Management Agency — he was named to the post Friday.
His predecessor, Herman Andaya, stepped down on August 17, after his first public appearance since the August 8 fire. He defended his decision not to activate the county’s civil defense sirens during the 1,000-degree blaze that killed at least 115 people.
Video of the approximately seven-acre wildfire on Maui circulated on social media
The exterior of the emergency clinic in Lahaina opened last week
Workers in Lahaina continue to search the area for the remains of the approximately 300 people still missing after the fire
An aerial view of Lahaina shows the extent of the destruction caused by the wildfires in Hawaii
The search for bodies in Lahaina has expanded to the ocean, where dive teams scoured the waters for remains last week.
Many people fled into the water as fires swept through the historic city, destroying more than 2,000 buildings. It is feared that many have drowned.
Names on the missing list were considered validated if officials had a person’s first and last name and a verified contact for the person who reported them missing, officials said.
Another 1,732 people reported missing were found safe Thursday afternoon, officials said.
As of Wednesday, officials had said there were still 1,000 to 1,100 names on the FBI’s tentative, unconfirmed missing persons list, but DNA had been collected from only 104 families, a figure far lower than previous major disasters across the region. country.
Pelletier said on Tuesday that his team was having difficulties compiling a solid list. In some cases people have provided only partial names, and in other cases names may be duplicated.
The developments come after Maui County Hawaiian Electric Co. sued Thursday after the utility failed to shut down power despite exceptionally strong winds and dry conditions.
Witness accounts and video footage indicated that sparks from power lines started fires when power poles broke in the wind, which were driven by a passing hurricane.
Hawaii Electric said in a statement that it is “deeply disappointed that Maui County has taken this litigious course of action while the investigation is still ongoing.”