Two weeks after strong winds swept wildfires over Maui and destroyed Lahaina, the search for hundreds of missing people continues today with the focus turning to destroyed or damaged multistory structures in the historic seaside town.
Maui officials raised the official death toll by one to 115 Monday evening, and said that 100% of the single-family residences have now been searched.
Gov. Josh Green told Hawaii News Now this morning that 87% of the total Lahaina burn area has now been searched, but now the hundreds of searchers and over 40 cadaver-detecting dogs turn their attention to multistory residential and commercial buildings, which he said are “very, very treacherous sites.”
He said the larger buildings need more caution and more equipment, so it will take some time to complete the search.
Two weeks after the Aug. 8 firestorm, federal, state and county officials still have no official list of the missing. Estimates have been reduced by several hundred from the “about 1,000” that government officials had been quoting earlier.
The community-organized, crowd-sourced Maui Fires People Locator had 724 entries this morning, however some entries included more than one person.
The Maui Police Department on Monday identified two more victims of the deadly fires as Douglas Gloege, 59, and Juan de Leon, 45, both of Lahaina.
According to authorities, the families of 13 victims have been notified, and the families of 22 other identified victims have not yet been located or notified.
The Maui Fire Department, meanwhile, said it is still battling several ongoing wildfires. MFD said the Olinda fire was 85% contained with about 1,081 acres burned; the Kula fire was 85% contained and has charred 202 acres; the Lahaina fire was 90% contained after burning 2,170 acres and over 2,200 structures.
There are no active fire threats and the brushfires are not advancing, MFD said Monday night in the county’s daily update.
And Hawaiian Electric said Monday night that about 1,800 customers in Olowalu, Lahaina and surrounding areas are still without power. Another 50 customers remain without power in Upcountry Maui.
Hawaiian Electric said supplies needed to aid restoration are expected to arrive on Maui this week, including special cables for Upcountry Maui. Over 400 Hawaiian Electric employees and contractors from the other islands are on Maui to assist with restoration, the company said.
