As the Maui wildfire death toll rises — at least 80 — and rescue teams with dogs are scouring the ruins of burned-out buildings for more bodies as local police have reported at least 1,000 missing, according to local police, authorities this Saturday estimated the cost The reconstruction of Lahaina, the former capital of Hawaii, which was reduced to rubble by a fire, will cost no less than 5.520 million dollars (about 5.037 million euros), according to FEMA (short for the US Federal Emergency Management Agency). . According to an insurer, the damage to houses alone is estimated at at least 1.3 billion US dollars. More than 2,200 were left in rubble as 86% of the affected buildings were residential.
Fighting the fire in Hawaii’s worst natural disaster — more than 61 killed by a 1960 tsunami — appeared to have made headway Saturday after firefighters limited the spread of flames into two of the three main headlights . The deadliest fire, that in Lahaina, the island’s historic capital, was 85% under control, according to Maui County officials, up from 80% the previous day. The fire in Pulehu further east has also been 80% contained, up from 70% on Thursday. However, a third outbreak in the inland Maui foothills was only half contained, officials said.
Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen described the devastation in apocalyptic terms. “That’s the closest thing to a war zone or maybe a bomb blast,” he told ABC on Friday. “Absolutely melted cars. Most structures [de construcciones] they no longer exist. And so for apples and apples.” Authorities confirmed this Saturday they don’t know how many people may be missing, prompting fears the death toll is rising. So far, teams have not searched the building, Bissen said on Friday. The Lahaina deaths confirmed Friday afternoon likely occurred outside as people tried to escape the fire, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green told CNN. “Without a doubt there will be more fatalities. We don’t ultimately know how many,” he added.
Buildings destroyed by the wildfire in an aerial photo taken this Friday in Lahaina, Hawaii. JUSTIN SULLIVAN (Getty Images/AFP)
Some local residents move a cart among the ruins of fire-burned buildings in Lahaina, Hawaii, this Friday. ETIENNE LAURENT (EFE)
Several homes were destroyed after Friday’s forest fire in Lahaina, Hawaii. Kevin Fujii (DPA via Europa Press)
A resident and his family search for belongings in the ashes of his burned home in Lahaina, Hawaii, Friday. PATRICK T. FALLON (AFP)
A woman hugs her cat after finding her after the fire in Lahaina, West Maui, this Friday, August 11. MOSES SLOVATIZKI (AFP)
Destroyed homes after the fire, in an aerial photo taken this Friday in Lahaina, Hawaii. JUSTIN SULLIVAN (Getty Images via AFP)
A man sits on the historic Lahaina banyan tree that was damaged by the wildfire on Friday, August 11. Rick Bowmer (AP)
Coast Guard in the port of Lahaina in front of a charred ship, this Friday on the island of Maui (Hawaii). ETIENNE LAURENT (EFE)
A man and his dog walk down Main Street in Lahaina, Hawaii, this Friday, August 11, amid debris caused by the wildfire. Rick Bowmer (AP)
An aerial photo shows a home destroyed by fire this Friday in Lahaina, Hawaii. JUSTIN SULLIVAN (Getty Images/AFP)
A woman walks through the remains of the fire in Lahaina, Hawaii this Friday. Rick Bowmer (AP)
A woman digs through the rubble of a home destroyed by the wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii, this Friday, August 11. Rick Bowmer (AP)
Aerial photo taken August 10 showing cars destroyed by wildfires in Lahaina.PATRICK T. FALLON (AFP)
Burnt out vehicle and remains of a home in the city of Lahaina on Wednesday. Tiffany Kidder Winn (AP)
Wildfires fanned by winds from Hurricane Dora that devastated several Hawaiian towns have claimed at least 55 lives, local authorities reported Thursday. Pictured: column of smoke in the city of Lahaina, Hawaii. DUSTIN JOHNSON (Portal)
The aftermath of the fire in Lahaina on the island of Maui this Thursday. Rick Bowmer (AP)
Hawaii Army National Guard helicopters attempt to extinguish the flames on the island of Maui on Wednesday. Hawaii National Guard (via Portal)
Search and rescue operations continue without the full extent of the damage being fully known: Cellular service is down, making communication and emergency notifications difficult. Pictured are charred buildings in the town of Lahaina on the island of Maui on Wednesday. MASON JARVI (via Portal)
“Local people have lost everything,” James Kunane Tokioka, Maui’s director of economic development and tourism, said at a news conference. A picture taken Tuesday shows the arson at the historic Waiola Church in Lahaina. Matthew Thayer (AP)
The fire has destroyed homes and businesses on Big Island, the archipelago’s largest island, and on Maui. Shown is a combination of two images of the city of Lahaina on the island of Maui from June 25 and August 9 after the fire.AP
The fire on the island of Maui wasn’t just limited to Lahaina. Rescue services were also battling other eruptions in Kula on the slopes of Haleakala volcano – the 10,000-foot mountain dominating the south of the island – and had organized shelters for evacuees from towns in the affected zone. Pictured is a charred boat on the boardwalk burned by wildfires in Lahaina on Wednesday.MASON JARVI (via Portal)
On the island of Maui, visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists each year, the blazes have closed roads and schools and forced the mobilization of the National Guard to assist in rescue and firefighting efforts. Pictured: Fire and flames on a street in Lahaina on Tuesday. Alan Dickar (AP)
Satellite imagery of the city of Lahaina on the island of Maui on June 25 and August 9 after the fire.AP
In Lahaina, at least a dozen people jumped into the sea to flee the fire and had to be rescued by the Coast Guard. Pictured is an overall view of the Lahaina burned area on Wednesday. HANDOUT (AFP)
United States President Joe Biden signed the state’s disaster declaration this Friday. Vice President Kamala Harris acknowledged FEMA’s mobilization of federal funds to help island residents and hailed the “heroic” work of emergency services. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has already provided the island with food and groceries for 5,000 people for five days and will continue to provide additional emergency relief, according to a spokesman for the presidential residence. In Maui County alone, around 1,500 people were evacuated and housed in six shelters, while around 15,000 tourists fled the country. Lahaina had a population of about 12,000 before the fire.
A combination of high temperatures, drought and the blows of Hurricane Dora, hundreds of miles offshore, increased the speed and intensity of the flames, leaving no time for many residents to evacuate. However, criticism of the authorities’ response to the disaster is mounting by the day, prompting Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez to announce the opening of an investigation into how to deal with the emergency.
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Lopez said he will conduct “a comprehensive review of the critical decisions and policies that took place this week leading up to, during and after the wildfires.” Local residents reiterate their criticism of what they see as the inactive attitude of the authorities, or at least failures in the surveillance systems. “We only have word of mouth,” William Harry of Lahaina told Agence France Presse. In this popular tourist town on Maui’s west coast, residents have been able to return in recent hours to salvage some belongings that had survived the rage of the flames from the ruins of their homes. However, county sources have warned that access to the historic center remains blocked due to risks including the presence of “airborne toxic particles,” said a statement released today. 80% of the city was destroyed by fire.
Search parties are using dogs to sift through the rubble, where more bodies could turn up. The local police chief said on Friday that around 1,000 people were missing. “What we saw today is catastrophic,” said the island’s governor, Josh Green, after touring the historic area of the former capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii in the early 19th century.
The blazes have devastated more than 800 hectares on two islands in the archipelago, forcing the evacuation of thousands of citizens. The fire broke out early Tuesday morning and its rapid progression put more than 35,000 people at risk on the island of Maui alone.
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