The death toll from the deadly wildfires in Maui has risen to 99 and could double in the coming week as 1,000 people remain missing, Hawaii Governor Josh Green said Monday.
“We are prepared for many tragic stories. They will probably find 10 to 20 people a day until they are ready. And it’s probably going to take 10 days. It’s basically impossible to guess,” Green said on CBS Monday.
In terms of the final death toll, he said, “I don’t want to guess at the number.”
Firefighters in Maui continue to work around the clock to contain the fire that is now officially the deadliest in modern U.S. history, while other inspectors and cadaver dogs continue to investigate the ashen city of Lahaina.
The harsh conditions have made search and recovery difficult, and recovery teams have covered only about 3 percent of the search area. They are expected to continue their efforts this week.
Hawaii Governor Josh Green said search teams are “likely to find 10 to 20 people a day until they’re done.”
Flames from a wildfire burn in Kihei, Hawaii, on August 9
Green told CNN Monday that most of the first 80 confirmed deaths were found in and around cars on Front Street or in the shallow waters nearby.
Green said hundreds of missing people still haven’t “checked in,” but noted there are still communication problems on the island and some people who have fled may have lost their phones in the process.
Many of the remains have been burned so badly that families have been invited to provide DNA swabs that could help identify the victims. Authorities established the Maui County Family Assistance Center to help collect samples.
“There will be more fatalities,” Green told CBS on Sunday. ‘The fire was so hot that what we find is the tragic find you can imagine… It’s hard to recognize anyone. But they can determine whether anyone has died.’
Green, a doctor who treats survivors, said he had been to Lahaina twice and that “there is nothing to see but complete devastation.”
“The buildings are almost non-existent. It was so hot that even metal shrank so you can’t believe what kind of building it was.
“But that’s what you’re seeing, and it’s clear there won’t be any survivors in the area. They either escaped and escaped that night and now that we’ve set up some temporary cell capacity, people are calling each other.
‘Look, our hearts will break, irreparably perhaps, if that means many more deaths. None of us think so, but we are prepared for many tragic stories.
“They’ll probably find 10 to 20 people a day until they’re done. And it’s probably going to take ten days. It’s actually impossible to guess.’
Authorities have not published an official list of missing persons, but a Maui resident, Ellie Erickson, has created an online spreadsheet, which currently lists about 1,200 names as “not located.”
About 4,000 other names on the spreadsheet are listed as “found.”
Green, right, and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell look at a destroyed building along Front Street during a tour of wildfire damage on Aug. 12
The hall of the historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and the nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission go up in flames along Wainee Street on August 8
Penny Wakida, a Lahaina resident, said her husband of 46, Clyde, died after staying in the home they built together 35 years ago in a desperate attempt to save it. She was contacted by officials to say they had found human remains on the property, the Honlulu Star Advertiser reported.
Penny’s daughter, Lexa Hanohano, and Clyde’s sisters, Avis Wakida and Teri Young, are among those who provided DNA samples to aid in remains identification.
“He didn’t want to evacuate,” Penny said. “He refused to go with me. He thought he could save the house. We know he’s dead.’
Twenty cadaver dogs and dozens of searchers are currently making their way through blocks in Lahaina that have been reduced to ashes.
“Right now they’re going street by street, block by block between cars, and soon they’ll be entering buildings,” Jeff Hickman, director of public affairs for the Hawaiian Defense Department, told NBC Monday.
The fire that engulfed ancient Lahaina nearly a week ago destroyed nearly every building in the city of 13,000, leaving a grid of gray rubble sandwiched between the blue ocean and the lush green slopes.
That fire is 85 percent under control, according to the province. Another blaze known as the Upcountry fire is 60 percent contained, officials said.
Twenty cadaver dogs and dozens of searchers are currently making their way through blocks reduced to ash. A member of the search and rescue team walks her cadaver dog near Front Street in Lahaina on Saturday, August 12, 2023
Green said he was frustrated after reports that the Maui’s emergency warning system, including sirens and cell phone alerts, reportedly failed to adequately notify residents that fires were rapidly engulfing Lahaina.
“We are heartbroken that people were unable to escape or were not warned. We are already working on a review. My attorney general, I asked her to do it. Not to find fault with anyone, but to say why this worked and this didn’t work,” he said.
“It’s definitely a natural disaster because the winds were moving — any fire between 60 and 80 miles per hour. That’s a mile a minute.’
He said the speed and ferocity of the fires meant “moving people” was the best hope of avoiding deaths.
Hundreds of people remain missing and large parts of Lahaina have yet to be searched after last week’s deadly wildfire
Many of the survivors attended Sunday church services, including Akanesi Vaa, 38, who said her family got stuck in traffic as they tried to escape the flames.
Vaa, her husband and children aged 15, 13 and 9 fled on foot and jumped a fence to safety.
On the way, an elderly woman begging for help handed her a baby to care for. The woman and her husband also managed to get over the fence.
“I think many of us needed to hear today’s message,” Vaa said after attending church at King’s Cathedral in Kahului. “All this ashes is going to turn into beauty. I know Lahaina will come back 10 times stronger.”
Scott Landis, pastor of Keawal’i Church, a branch of the United Church of Christ in Makena, said an unusually large crowd of 100 people showed up, nearly double what he expected on a typical August Sunday.
“They really listened. You could tell people were here, looking for a word of hope,” Landis said.
Among them were people who have family and friends who are missing, and they “fear the worst,” he added.
Holding on to the hope of finding missing survivors, people searched an online database of thousands of names of those found and those who remained missing.
Family and friends mobilized on social media, sharing information about their missing loved ones and asking for help in finding them.
“Still looking for my in-laws,” Heather Baylosis wrote in an Instagram post on Saturday. “People are found alive and severely disoriented by what they have experienced. We keep hope!’