About 85% of Lahaina disaster area searched; death toll remains 114
![GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARADVERTISER.COM
A Hawaiian flag flew near Honoapiilani Highway on Friday.](https://staradvertiser.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/web1_20230819-web-lahaina-friday.jpg)
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARADVERTISER.COM
A Hawaiian flag flew near Honoapiilani Highway on Friday.
UPDATE: 9 p.m.
With 85% of the disaster area searched, the fatality count from the Aug. 8 wildfire that destroyed most of Lahaina was unchanged at 114 Saturday night, Maui County officials said.
There are no new positive identifications of the deceased, they said.
Eleven days after the firestorm, federal, state and county officials still do not have a full account of how many people are missing and who they are. About 1,000 people are said to be missing or unaccounted for.
Maui Fire Department, meanwhile, reports that the Olinda fire is 85% contained after burning about 1,081 acres; the Kula fire is 80% contained with 202 acres scorched; and the Lahaina fire is 89% after burning 2,170 acres and destroying over 2,2oo structures, mostly residences.
Citing the National Weather Service forecast, county officials said rain from post-tropical cyclone Fernanda is expected to approach the state starting late Sunday, with the highest rainfall totals for windward and mountain slopes of Maui expected between Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning.
“With the possibility of heavy rains and flooding on the horizon, the U.S. Coast Guard and Department of Transportation have worked to deploy storm drain inlet protection devices and absorbent booms in several areas impacted by wildfires, including eight storm drain outfalls entering the ocean within the impacted areas of Lahaina town,” county officials said in their Saturday night update.
Officials said 43 residents remain at the island’s emergency shelters, and that the Hannibal Tavares Community Center shelter will close Sunday since no residents are using it.
Read the full County update here.
6:45 p.m.
About 1,800 Hawaiian Electric customers in Olowalu, Lahaina and surrounding areas remain without power 11 days after the massive wind and fire storm.
Hawaiian Electric said this evening that its crews are working to restore a critical circuit in West Maui that serves essential services, such as grocery stores and pharmacies, along with a county wastewater pumping facility in the Lahaina area.
“Once that circuit is restored, coordination between county response teams and individual businesses and properties will determine next steps toward respective reopening at these commercial facilities,” a Hawaiian Electric news release said.
Crews also are working to restore pocket outages in Upcountry Maui, the company said.
Hawaiian Electric said power is back for over 80% of the customers who lost electricity have their power back on, and about 90% of the island.
12:15 p.m.
The County of Maui is offering mobile waste and hygiene facilities to support community-led resiliency hubs around Lahaina.
The Maui County Department of Environmental Management in a news release said it can, upon request, provide rubbish dumpsters, cardboard recycling bins, portable toilets, hand-washing stations and mobile showers.
“These community-led hubs are located throughout neighborhoods significantly impacted by last week’s wildfires; providing valuable resources and assistance during these challenging times,” the county said in the news release. “With these hubs and their organizers providing services in the aftermath of the wildfires, officials hope these requests can enhance communication, streamline future assistance, and further empower hub organizers as the lengthy recovery process continues.”
Supplies of these hygiene and waste facilities are limited, the county said. Hub leaders can request them by contacting the DEM at 808-270–7880 or via email at recycle.maui@mauicounty.gov.
10:40 a.m.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency plans to keep all 1,000 people in place on Maui and in Honolulu despite the threat of Hurricane Hilary to states that are in the same western region as Hawaii, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told reporters during a conference call this morning.
FEMA support for potential wind and rain damage to states such as California, Nevada and Arizona would come from other FEMA regions, she said.
Criswell had no specifics on Monday’s visit to Lahaina by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, which will include Criswell, such as whether they will fly over the damage or see it from the ground.
The White House previously announced that Biden will meet with survivors and first responders.
Criswell acknowledged frustration from survivors applying for aid whose documents have been destroyed or lived in multi-family households where their names were not on the leases.
She met a survivor last week that lived in a home with 35 occupants.
Changes in FEMA policies within the last two years are designed to help people in similar situations receive federal aid, Criswell said.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE
As the search continues for the estimated 1,000 people still missing from the Aug. 8 Lahaina wildfire, government and community efforts on Maui and throughout the islands are ongoing to provide relief to Valley Island residents.
The official death toll from the Lahaina disaster stood at 114 this morning with 10 identified, according to Maui County. The families of six victims have been notified. Another four victims have been identified but their families have not be located or informed, the county said.
The Maui Police Department said Friday night that 78% of the Lahaina burn area has been searched. The Maui Fire Department said the Olinda fire was 85% contained with an estimated 1,081 acres burned; the Kula fire was 85% contained with about 202 acres scorched; and the Lahaina fire was 90% contained after burning 2,168 acres and over 2,000 structures. There were no active fire threats, as of Friday night, MFD said.
Eleven days after the firestorm, federal, state and county officials still do not have a handle on how many people are missing and who they are. The FBI is now assisting with the efforts that include the collection of DNA samples of family members of the missing and analysis from cell phone data.
The Family Assistance Center, where DNA samples are being collected, has moved to the Hyatt Regency at 200 Nohea Kai Drive in Kaanapali. The center, set up a week ago in Kahului, is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily in the Hyatt Regency’s Monarchy Ballroom.
“FBI, MPD, and Maui Emergency Management Agency are asking all immediate family members – parents, siblings, and children – of those who are still missing to provide DNA samples to assist in this effort,” athe FBI said in a news release earlier this week.
Family members living on other islands or the mainland are asked to call the FBI at 808-566-4300, or reach out via email at HN-COMMAND-POST@ic.fbi.gov with their contact information. The FBI will provide further instructions on how you can provide your DNA samples.
Relief efforts today include an Oahu donation distribution site that opened in coordination with Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement.
The site is a 30,000-square-foot warehouse provided by OHA in Hakuone at Kaka‘ako Makai, and will be used to receive, sort, inventory and store all of the donations collected for Maui residents.
On Maui, U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda announced a federal resource fair today in Kihei. The fair will include “a collection of federal agencies to take immediate action on behalf of constituents who’ve lost personal documents in the fires,” her office said.
Her staff will also “provide ongoing direct support for everyone to ensure that their individual issues are fully resolved in an expedited manner,” according to a news release. Federal agencies that will have representatives at the fair include: Department of Housing and Urban Development, Social Security Administration, U.S. Postal Service, Veterans Administration, and the Small Business Administration
The fair, which runs from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Maui Economic Development Board’s Malcom Center at 1305 North Holopono Street, Suite 5, in Kihei.
Maui County, meanwhile, said this morning that the unsafe water advisory for Lahaina’s water system was expanded Friday to include the area from Kaniau Road to Leiali’i Parkway.
The county Department of Water Supply said the advisory remains in effect for Lahaina and Upper Kula.
Residents in these areas should only use bottled water for things like drinking, brushing teeth, ice making and food preparation, the department said. “At this time, residents in areas impacted by the unsafe water advisory are not able to treat the water in any way to make it safe to consume,” according to a news release.
Drinking water sites are set up in many areas of Lahaina and Kula, it said.
Residents in the affected areas can see updated maps of the unsafe water advisory ares on the department’s website, www.mauicounty.gov/water.