How Lahaina wildfires ‘started with downed powerline’ before road barricades and lack of warnings left thousands with no way out as inferno razed historic Maui town to the ground

Shane Treu was repairing the roof of his home in Lahaina around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, August 8, when he heard a powerline “pop,” sparking a fire that is thought to have developed into the deadly wildfires that have killed at least 99 killed people.

Heavy winds from a hurricane hundreds of miles from Maui had damaged the line, which was “on the ground and sparking,” said Treu, who called 911 to report the blaze before filming the blaze on his cell phone.

Firefighters arrived about 12 minutes later, and by 9 a.m. officials said it was “100 percent under control.” But within a few hours there was a ‘flare up’ that spiraled out of control.

Residents claim that what followed, including the closure of Lahaina Bypass — a major route into and out of the city — after the flare-up turned the area into a “death trap” that may have claimed lives.

As fierce winds caused the wildfire to spread into Lahaina at speeds of up to a mile per minute, fleeing residents were forced onto Front Street, a narrow road that quickly became congested. Some in the city were not even aware of the deadly conflagration that grew around them after the warning sirens failed to sound.

The death toll from the fires currently stands at 99, but that is expected to double as search teams search the remains of Lahaina for human remains.

More than 2,000 properties in the ancient city were completely destroyed and 1,300 people were still missing on Sunday, Hawaii Governor Josh Green said.

Green said he has also directed the state’s attorney general to review the warning systems.

Even by 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, when strong winds sparked a fierce firestorm in Lahaina, resident Mike Cicchino had no idea of ​​the danger growing around him.

His power had been out all day, so he decided to drive to the local hardware store for a generator. As soon as he turned down his street, he was met with “pandemonium.”

“I see people running and grabbing their babies and screaming and jumping in their cars,” Cicchino said. He made a U-turn, ran into his house and told his wife to leave, ‘We have to go! We have to get out of here now!’

There were no sirens, no one with megaphones, no one telling anyone what to do. to run to – through smoke so thick it blinded them, flames approached from all sides, cars exploded, power lines toppled and trees uprooted, fire whooshed in the wind and rained down

They ran to the car with five dogs and called the police, and a dispatcher said to monitor traffic. Freeway access in and out of Lahaina was cut off by barricades erected by authorities after the flare-up.

The roadblocks forced the line of cars onto Front Street.

‘We are all walking into a death trap,’ thought Cicchino. He told his wife, “We have to jump out of this car, leave the car behind and run for our lives.”

They walked the dogs. But it was impossible to know which way to run.

“Behind us, straight ahead, next to us, everything was on fire,” Cicchino said. It had been less than 15 minutes since he left his house, and he thought it was the end. He called his mother, his brother, his daughter to tell them he loved them.

The black smoke was so thick they could only see the white dogs, not the three dark ones, and they lost them. Propane tanks of a catering bus exploded.

He joined large groups of people who desperately jumped over a seawall into the ocean. There were terrifying scenes as dozens of people spent hours in the choppy waters amidst a storm of flames, ash and smoke surrounding them.

Cicchino ran up and down the sea wall calling out the names of his lost dogs. He saw dead bodies lying next to the wall. “Help me,” people shouted. The elderly and disabled cannot make it over the wall on their own.

Some were badly burned and Cicchino lifted as many as he could. He ran until he vomited from the smoke, his eyes almost swollen shut.

Photos and video captured at the height of the fires show how the wildfires believed to have been sparked earlier that day by the downed power lines grew into one of the most destructive wildfires America has ever experienced.

Lahaina residents have now filed a lawsuit against Hawaiian Electric, alleging it is responsible for the fires after it failed to shut down power lines despite warnings from the National Weather Service that high winds could blow those lines. could blow over and cause rapidly spreading forest fires.

Hawaiian authorities worked diligently on Tuesday to identify 99 confirmed victims of the horrific Maui wildfires amid warnings that the death toll is likely to double as search efforts continue.

Officials are expected to release the identities of several more victims today.

Currently, only three people have been formally identified and work has been hampered because many of the remains have been so badly burned.

Search teams had covered about 25 percent of the search area, Maui police chief John Pelletier said Monday. That is an increase of only three percent on Saturday.

Governor Josh Green previously said he expects “10 to 20” bodies to be recovered daily in an operation expected to last about ten days. On Sunday, about 1,300 remained missing, he said.

The fire that engulfed ancient Lahaina last week destroyed nearly every building in the city of 13,000.

About 86 percent of the approximately 2,200 buildings destroyed were residences, and the value of destroyed properties is estimated to be more than $5 billion.