2023-08-15 02:40:12
The fires that destroyed most of the historic city of Lahaina are already among the deadliest in the United States in more than a century, surpassing the Camp Fire tragedy, which in 2018 left 85 dead in California. But both fires are surpassed by the deadliest in the country, when in 1918 some 453 people died in Minnesota and Wisconsin, according to the nonprofit research group National Fire Protection Association.
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“They will probably find 10 to 20 people a day, until they finish looking. And it’s probably going to take 10 days. It’s impossible to guess what will happen, really,” the governor said in an interview with CBS Mornings.
Burned cars and remains of buildings in the city of Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, on August 9, 2023. (EFE).
Green also reported that the number of missing people dropped from 2,000 to about 1,300. Many of them had been incommunicado because the telephone services were not working due to the fire.
An aerial view of the aftermath of the forest fire in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, on August 11, 2023. (EFE).
The risk of a forest fire was minimized
But as the true magnitude of the tragedy that began on Wednesday of last week becomes known, new information is emerging about how unprepared the island of Hawaii was to deal with a wildfire-related emergency.
According to the chain CNNIn 2021, Hawaiian authorities released a report that ranked the natural disasters most likely to threaten the state’s residents. These are tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. While the risk to human life posed by forest fires was classified with the word “low” by the state emergency management agency.
Scientists say climate change
caused by human action exacerbates natural disasters, making them more common and lethal.
Also, according to CNN, a maui county report on the prevention of forest fires of 2021 stated that, although the number of hectares consumed by fire had increased in relation to previous years, the funds to prevent and mitigate them were “inadequate”.
A Hawaii Army National Guard CH47 Chinook drops water on a forest fire on the island of Maui, Hawaii, on August 9, 2023. (EFE).
/ MASTER SGT ANDREW JACKSON / US A
The report also said that the Maui fire department’s strategic plan included “nothing about what can and should be done to prevent fires,” in what it called a “significant oversight.”
The report recommended a thorough assessment of fire risks, but it’s unclear if officials heeded the recommendation, CNN reports.
The CNN report argues that other documents from the past five years show authorities knew the risk of fire was increasing and could be exacerbated by hurricane force winds, as was the case with the Lahaina fire. “Fires that occur as a result of another major threat or catastrophe, such as a hurricane, are especially difficult,” one of the reports said. He added that in these cases the first aid and fire teams are overwhelmed.
CNN emphasizes that during the Maui fire, Hurricane Dora was hundreds of miles south of the island, but its winds fanned the flames.
The public resources website of the state emergency management agency also underestimates the impact of a wildfire, CNN maintains.
That site gives clear recommendations on what to do in the event of a hurricane, tsunami, flash flood, or earthquake. Only two short paragraphs on wildfires are included at the bottom of the page, with no similar advice on how to stay safe.
Fires in Hawaii. (AFP).
The evacuation sirens did not sound
To all these antecedents we must add another that may be key when establishing the reasons that contributed to worsen the tragedy.
According to the AP news agency, in the hours before the forest fire consumed the city of Lahaina, Maui County authorities did not activate the sirens that would have warned the population about the approaching flames. Instead, they sent social media messages that would have reached a much smaller audience.
The report also indicates that power outages and cell phone service prevented people from being able to communicate in time to find out about the danger.
Telemundo reported that one of the survivors, identified as Héctor Bermúdez, said he managed to leave his apartment in Lahaina Shores alerted by the smell of smoke that woke him from a nap. He recounted that he asked a neighbor if he was leaving too.
“He said: ‘No, I’m waiting for the authorities to see what they’re going to do,’” Bermúdez recounted. “And I said, ‘No, no, no, please go away. This smoke is going to kill us. You have to go, please. You have to get out of here. Don’t wait for anyone.’”
Davilynn Severson and Hano Ganer search through the ashes of their family home after a wildfire in Lahaina, West Maui, on Aug. 11, 2023. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon/AFP)
/ PATRICK T. FALLON
Losses in Lahaina
Lahaina has 13,000 residents. The AP agency reported Monday that the fire has already been 85% contained.
According to official data, some 4,500 people will need shelter in the coming days and a total of 3,560 gallons of water are required per day to meet the demand of all those affected, reported Telemundo.
“The remains that we are finding are from a fire that melted the metal,” Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said.
An aerial image taken on August 10, 2023 shows destroyed homes and burned buildings in Lahaina. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP).
/ PATRICK T. FALLON
“We are going as fast as we can. But just so you know: 3%, that’s what has been tracked with the dogs,” she added.
Maui police said they would not be allowed entry to
while security assessments are carried out and while searches continue, including for those who can prove they live there.
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