LAHAINA >> Gov. Josh Green and top officials from federal disaster recovery agencies walked among the still-smoldering ruins of historic Lahaina town Saturday to emphasize the large-scale mobilization of resources underway to secure and clear the disaster zone created by last week’s runaway wildfire and to assist those who lost their homes and businesses.
As the group reached the Old Lahaina Center, teams of cadaver dogs were seen performing their grim task of searching for human remains, drawing attention to the scope of the tragedy. So far 93 people — 13 more than previously announced — are known to have died in the wildfire that erupted Tuesday, fanned by 60 mph winds.
Already the deadliest U.S. wildfire in over a century, officials have warned the death toll is likely to rise substantially. Newly released maps from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Pacific Disaster Center show an estimated 2,207 structures — 86% of them residences — were damaged or destroyed in the wind-whipped inferno, with losses approaching $6 billion.
Speaking at a news conference later in the day in Wailuku, Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said two of the victims have been identified, but their names were not released. Hawaii News Now on Saturday reported the names of four of the dead: Faaso and Malui Fonua Tone, their daughter Salote Takafua and her son, Tony Takafua, who were found in a burned-out car near their home Thursday.
Officials said the recovered remains so far were mostly from outside of the building rubble, and mainly in burned-out cars. Witnesses have reported seeing numerous fire victims in their vehicles and on the streets, overtaken as they tried to flee from the flames and intense heat.
Pelletier said only 3% of the impacted areas had been covered by cadaver dogs from FEMA’s Urban Search & Rescue Teams, and that 12 more dogs were on their way to Maui to expedite the process of locating human remains. He also encouraged the family members of those who may have perished to submit a DNA sample to assist in identification.
An influx of National Guard and U.S. active-duty military members also are being sent to Maui. Brig. Gen. Steve Logan, commander of the Hawaii National Guard, was appointed by Green Saturday as dual-status commander. Normally, the National Guard and active-duty military operate under separate chains of command.
Logan said at the news conference that there is “a vast array of active-duty forces that are ready to flow into the County of Maui” to support Mayor Richard Bissen and his administration.
“Let me be clear about this, we are here in a support role. We’re here to support Mayor Bissen, his staff and the rest of the county agencies, not to take charge and not to take control,” he said.
AMONG THOSE in Lahaina Saturday to get a closeup view of the catastrophe were FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, U.S. Fire Administrator Lori Moore-Merrell, Small Business Administration Administrator Isabella Guzman, U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono and U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda.
FEMA said it has deployed over 150 personnel, including search and rescue teams, with more on the way. More than a dozen federal agencies and departments have been mobilized to assist state, county, nonprofit and private-sector entities, including the Department of Defense, U.S. Coast Guard, Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The group started their walk on Front Street near the gutted shells of King Kamehameha III Elementary School, pausing at the town’s iconic 150-year-old banyan tree, where they learned from Steve Nimz of Tree Solutions Hawaii that although severely damaged, there was hope it would survive with much care.
The tour continued on past the remnants of the historic Baldwin House and through Lahaina’s once-bustling commercial core of shops, restaurants and art galleries, now reduced to ash and rubble.
Criswell said FEMA is working on multiple fronts to help with clearing damaged buildings and debris to ensure residents can safely return and to provide immediate lodging and housing assistance — and mental health support — to those displaced by the wildfire.
“Then we go into the long-term about how do we want to rebuild, what do we want to envision this community to look like in the future, and how do we do it in a way that helps them be more resilient to future severe weather events that we continue to see as a result of climate change,” she said.
Green announced that working with FEMA and local hotels, 500 hotel rooms on Maui have been made available to residents who lost their homes, some of whom could be moved out of shelters as early as today. His administration is also working with Airbnb to obtain short-term rentals.
He said he’s hoping residents will be able to stay in temporary housing for up to 90 days before transitioning into longer-term rentals with “immediate” funding from the state, FEMA and charitable donations.
“The larger discussion is going to be what do we rebuild and where, because, as you can see, the devastation is so complete that we’re going to have to clear the land and do a quick assessment of whether it’s safe with heavy metals and so on before anybody can really contemplate rebuilding,” he said.
THE STATE Insurance Division will be setting up shop permanently on Maui, Green said, to provide “one-stop shopping” to help property owners work with insurance companies and obtain assistance from agencies including FEMA, which is establishing its own Disaster Recovery Centers.
FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance teams made their first appearance at evacuation shelters Saturday, and Criswell said 1,700 people had already registered for assistance.
FEMA Region IX Administrator Bob Fenton said once residents register, they can be “connected immediately” with hotel room housing, and depending on their insurance coverage and needs, they can obtain financial assistance with home repairs and reconstruction, rental assistance during reconstruction, and even medical bills, funeral costs and personal needs.
Thanks to overhead imagery of the Lahaina disaster area, Fenton said on-site damage inspections may not be necessary, and FEMA can work remotely with homeowners.
And despite its name, Guzman said the Small Business Administration offers low-interest loans of up to $500,000 for residential rebuilding and $100,000 for apartment renters’ losses, as well as up to $2 million to businesses for physical damage or economic injury.
Green said he is determined to see that once the rebuilding process starts, Lahaina remains a place for locals.
“Some people may feel the need to relocate and I’m already thinking about ways for the state to acquire that land so we can put it into workforce housing to put it back into families, or to make it open spaces in perpetuity as a memorial to people who were lost,” he said. “We want this to be something that we remember, after the pain passes, as a magic place.
“And Lahaina will rebuild. The tragedy right now is the loss of life. The buildings can be rebuilt over time — even the banyan tree may survive — but we don’t want this to become a cleared space where then, yes, people from overseas just come and decide they’re going to take it. The state will take it and preserve it first. … We don’t want it to be another example of people being priced out of paradise,” Green said.
JOINING GREEN at the end of the tour, Bissen addressed ongoing complaints over limited vehicle access to West Maui by those affected by the wildfires. The county reopened Honoapiilani Highway for the time Friday, restricting access to Lahaina residents and visitors who needed to retrieve their belongings from West Maui hotels so they could depart the island.
But only four hours later, the highway was closed again after a large number of vehicles had parked on the Lahaina Bypass highway and people had descended into areas declared off limits. The tense situation led to a major altercation with police.
Motorists waited in long lines, some overnight, only to find Lahaina-bound traffic on the Honoapiilani Highway remained closed Saturday except for authorized vehicles transporting supplies and personnel, although motorists were allowed to leave West Maui through Maalaea.
Then shortly after 2 p.m., the county announced that West Maui residents would be able to drive into the area through Waihee on winding Kahekili Highway.
“We’re at that phase where we want to show respect and dignity to the folks who are still here right now. You cannot see them but they’re all here, and so we want to make sure that we keep this place secure,” Bissen said.
He also asked the public to honor the restrictions to keep out of prohibited areas when they’re allowed to return due to the possible presence of hazardous materials and other unsafe conditions.
“So once we deem this place safe then we’ll let people come back, because we know a lot of people want to see what has happened to their homes and their businesses.”
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For help
Hawaii residents can register for Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance at DisasterAssistance.gov, through the FEMA app, or by calling 800-621-3362. For more information on the Hawaii wildfires, visit fema.gov
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Star-Advertiser reported Mark Ladao contributed to this report.
