The tragic loss of life in Maui, Hawaii, has now climbed to 93, marking these devastating wildfires as the deadliest in modern US history.
Families of the missing anxiously combed through the wreckage in a desperate quest for any indication that their dear ones might have survived, as those who managed to survive struggled to comprehend the enormity of the catastrophe and sought comfort through religious gatherings.
In the aftermath of the devastating blaze that ravaged a significant portion of the historic resort town of Lahaina over the course of Tuesday and Wednesday, firefighting teams continued their efforts to quell flare-ups, while specially trained cadaver dogs meticulously combed through the scorched remains of the town, hoping to locate any potential victims.
After a visit to Lahaina, which has been the epicenter of the destruction, Hawaii Governor Josh Green emphasized the stark reality of the situation, stating that there is hardly anything remaining.
The fires raging across the island have now become the deadliest in the country in terms of lives lost in more than a hundred years. Officials have cautioned that the process of locating and identifying the deceased is still in its initial phases, given that teams equipped with cadaver dogs have only covered a mere three percent of the search zone.
“It will certainly be the worst natural disaster that Hawaii ever faced,” Gov Green said earlier. The newly released death toll passed that of the 2018 Camp Fire in northern California, which left 85 dead and destroyed the town of Paradise.
This incident also marks the highest death toll from a U.S. wildfire since 1918, a year that saw 453 fatalities in the Cloquet fire that swept through Minnesota and Wisconsin, as reported by the National Fire Protection Association.
With a determination to locate any possible survivors, individuals diligently scoured through a collaborative online database containing thousands of names. This list encompassed both those who had been located and those who were still unaccounted for.
Across various social media platforms, families and friends rallied together, leveraging the power of digital connections to share details about their missing loved ones and appealing for assistance in their search efforts.
“Still searching for my in-laws,” Heather Baylosis wrote in a Saturday Instagram post. “People are being found alive and severely disoriented due to what they have gone through. We are holding out hope!”
Megan Sweeting wrote on her Facebook page, “MISSING: My Dad, Michael Misaka, has been missing since the Lahaina Fires started. If there is any information out there regarding my dad please let me know. I just need to know he is safe.”
Hundreds of people were still missing, though a precise count remained unclear.
Hawaii Governor Josh Green reiterated his commitment to conducting a thorough investigation into both the fire response and the effectiveness of emergency notification systems. Concerns arose among residents who wondered if additional measures could have been taken to provide adequate warnings.
Several witnesses recounted receiving minimal advance notice, expressing their harrowing experiences as the fire rapidly consumed the town, seemingly within a matter of minutes. Some individuals were compelled to seek refuge in the Pacific Ocean to escape the inferno.
Despite the presence of sirens strategically placed throughout the island, designed to alert the population about imminent natural disasters, these alarms remained silent. Additionally, widespread power and cellular outages hindered the dissemination of alerts through alternative channels.