There are already 55 deaths, but the number will continue to rise, the authorities warn. The missing hundreds. The massive fire on the island of Maui in Hawaii — which burned down the historic capital, forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people and left thousands more homeless — is already “the largest natural conflagration,” according to the island’s governor, Josh Green. catastrophe in the history of the state. It is also one of the deadliest fires in the United States in recent years. It is to be feared that it will go even further. Mayor Richard Bissen warns that only bodies found outdoors have been counted so far, as rescue workers were unable to search the rubble of homes still smoking.
Two days after the fire reduced the island’s northwestern city of Lahaina and the former capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii to rubble in the 19th century, the big question is why the alarm system wasn’t working and sirens should have been sounding to alert the Warn the public of the proximity of the fire. Many residents who fled at the last moment while listening to the explosion of gas canisters and pumps – “it seemed like a war,” explained an eyewitness – regretted not having received a warning. They only began to flee after realizing other buildings were burning in their streets.
United States President Joe Biden has signed the state’s disaster declaration. And Vice President Kamala Harris has acknowledged the mobilization of federal funds to help islanders and hailed the “heroic” work of emergency services.
Authorities claim it was “virtually impossible” to issue evacuation orders in a timely manner, said Bradford Ventura, Lahaina Fire Chief. “What we experienced was a fire that spread so quickly across the original neighborhood [los vecinos] They took the initiative to evacuate themselves without notice.
The fire broke out on Tuesday morning. Residents in a surrounding area were then asked to leave their homes. However, only a few hours later the contained fire was declared. When the high winds brought it back to life, no renewed alarm was apparently issued for the siren system installed across the island. Messages were sent out by telephone and via radio and television stations, but cellphone and electricity service had been cut by the blaze and many people were unable to see him.
The work of the emergency services was also made more difficult by the collapse of power poles on the two main access roads, which made it necessary to close these roads. Only a small side road was left for the entry and exit of the vehicles.
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Firefighters have managed to establish a firebreak around Lahaina and another around Kihei, a major tourist town in the south of the island, near which another fire was burning, and they are attempting to fully control both sources of what has not yet been fully published. Unlike in recent days, the trade winds that fueled the disaster’s flames have lost strength, helping helicopters drop water on the eruptions. Meanwhile, rescue efforts continue. A team of specially trained dogs has arrived from the state of California to help search for the remains of any possible victims buried in the ashes.
“It definitely looks like a bomb was dropped on Lahaina,” Green said after touring the remains of the city with Mayor Bissen. What until a few days ago were colorful streets full of tourists is now a war landscape, a vast carpet of gray ash between the intense green of the Kahalawai volcano and the crystal clear blue of the sea. The governor has linked the disaster to climate change: “Global warming has already arrived and is affecting the islands,” he explained.
Authorities this Thursday gave the green light for residents to return to the city to check what happened to their homes and restore as much as possible. However, Green has warned them to mentally prepare for the coup: they will “see destruction like never before in their lives.”
One of the major issues Maui will face after the fire is housing for all of the people who lost their homes. The island was already suffering from severe housing shortages, exacerbated by the conversion of real estate into tourist residences, particularly in coastal areas. Now, the vast majority of Lahaina’s 12,000 residents are in need in addition to those needing shelter. Many have insurance that allows them to rebuild their homes and businesses. For others, especially Native Hawaiians, this is not the case: their homes have been passed down from generation to generation, and because they were not mortgaged, they did not have to take out insurance.
Destroyed buildings this Thursday in Lahaina on the island of Maui. Associated Press/LaPresse (APN)
Both local authorities and community organizations have urged tourists and other visitors to cancel their travel plans to the island. “Don’t come to Maui,” said NGO Green New Deal Network director Kaniela Ing in a message on X, the old Twitter. “Cancel your vacation plans. The survivors need those hotel rooms. Give our communities time to recover and mourn.” More than 14,000 tourists who were on Maui at the time of the fire or who arrived immediately thereafter have since been evacuated from the island.
The White House has pledged any assistance needed to deal with the disaster. According to a spokesman for the presidential residence, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has already provided food and groceries to 5,000 people for five days on the island and will continue to provide additional emergency relief.
Biden spoke to Gov. Green this Friday for a detailed report on the damage on the island. “The governor has provided the president with a first-hand update and assessment of Hawaii’s current needs,” the White House said. Vice President Kamala Harris, who traveled to Chicago this Friday, offered her condolences but ruled out an immediate trip to the archipelago so as not to divert necessary resources to those affected.
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