100 Dead As Wildfires Rage In US' Hawaii, Saw Flames, It Was Waiting For Us

 100 Dead As Wildfires Rage In US' Hawaii, Saw Flames, It Was Waiting For Us

An AFP journalist reported on Tuesday that the Maui Police Forensic Facility was using refrigerators as improvised mortuaries as the predominantly rural island tries to handle the sheer quantity of fatalities.

Kahului: As a temporary mortuary was enlarged to handle the tragedy, the state's governor said Tuesday that the number of confirmed fatalities in the horrifying wildfire that destroyed a Hawaiian town had surpassed 100.

Gov. Josh Green has repeatedly cautioned that the final death toll from the Lahaina fire last week, which is now the biggest US wildfire in more than a century, is anticipated to grow drastically. He has warned Hawaiians to prepare for a figure that might be two or three times greater than it is right now.

"101 lives have now been lost," he added, adding that dogs trained to smell out bodies had scoured more than a fifth of the disaster area.

An AFP journalist reported on Tuesday that the Maui Police Forensic Facility was using refrigerators as improvised mortuaries as the predominantly rural island tries to handle the sheer quantity of fatalities.

Locals fear that affluent developers may try to swoop in and purchase plots that can be turned into luxurious homes or more lucrative short-term rentals in an effort to profit off people's plight. 

Green warned against any effort at a land grab in the destroyed remnants of Lahaina.

"Our aim simply to have a local relationship -- forever -- to this community," he said as we began to rebuild.

Green stated, "So we'll make sure we're doing everything we can to make sure that land doesn't end up in the hands of people from the outside."

Tuesday saw some progress in the challenging task of identifying the deceased as authorities announced they had obtained DNA samples from 41 individuals whose relatives were still missing.

Only four of the dead have so far been named, and Maui County officials said they wouldn't reveal their identities until they were certain their relatives had been notified.

According to the island's police chief, due to the intensity of the fire, several of the remains are so severely burned that it is impossible to identify them.

Stories of terrifying escapes and more evidence on the absence of official notice of the quickly spreading fire began to surface.

When officials said last Tuesday morning that a tiny fire in the hills had been put out, Annelise Cochran told AFP she felt comforted.

But it had abruptly and unexpectedly flared.The wind was roaring at more than 80 mph, smoke was billowing, and the blue sky had become a dark brown tone.

The 30-year-old described it as "very, very fast; shocking to see." "We saw flames, and we realised it was coming right for us," she added, adding that there had been no call for an evacuation.

She attempted to depart by automobile but was obstructed by cars that their panicked drivers had abandoned, so she came to the conclusion that the water was her only option.

"The air became very acrid and horrible, so we fully submerged themselves into the water to get our faces down as much as we might have, breathing the air that was only on the outermost layers of the water."

Before she was rescued from the sea, it took many hours.

toxic substances

Bans that restrict people from entering Lahaina have angered locals who are wanting to return to check on the properties they abandoned. Officials issued a warning about the area's unstable buildings and possibility for harmful substances to be released into the air, and on Monday they reported making one trespassing arrest.

On Monday, a police placard system that was meant to allow visitors to return to Lahaina degenerated into turmoil and was abruptly stopped.

Pastor of a nearby church who waited for more than an hour to obtain a placard without success, Stephen Van Bueren, 42, said: "The communications is abysmal; people are very frustrated and irritated and this is getting worse."

Concerns have been raised over the government's responsiveness to the disaster and level of preparedness.

Early on in the blaze, a few fire hydrants dried up, and several warning devices either didn't work or weren't activated.

The largest power utility in the state, Hawaiian Electric, is the target of a class-action lawsuit alleging that Hawaiian Electric should have turned off its power lines to reduce the chance of a fire.