LAST UPDATE | 16 Aug 2023
THE DEATH TOLL from wildfires that ripped through the Hawaiian island of Maui has risen again to 106, according to the state’s governor.
The updated death toll came as a mobile morgue unit arrived to help Hawaii officials working painstakingly to identify those killed in the wildfires.
The US Department of Health and Human Services deployed a team of coroners, pathologists and technicians along with exam tables, X-ray units and other equipment to identify victims and process remains, said Jonathan Greene, the agency’s deputy assistant secretary for response.
“It’s going to be a very, very difficult mission,” Green said.
“And patience will be incredibly important because of the number of victims.”
A week after a blaze tore through historic Lahaina, many survivors started moving into hundreds of hotel rooms set aside for displaced locals, while donations of food, ice, water and other essentials poured in.
Crews using cadaver dogs have scoured about 32% of the area, the County of Maui said in a statement.
Governor Josh Green asked for patience as authorities became overwhelmed with requests to visit the burn area.
The county named two victims, Lahaina residents Robert Dyckman, 74, and Buddy Jantoc, 79, adding in a statement that a further three victims have been identified.
Those names will be released once the county has identified their next of kin.
The governor warned that scores more bodies could be found.
The wildfires, some of which have not yet been fully contained, are already the deadliest in the US in more than a century. Their cause was under investigation.
When asked by Hawaii News Now if children are among the missing, Green said: “Tragically, yes … when the bodies are smaller, we know it’s a child.”
He described some of the sites being searched as “too much to share or see from just a human perspective”.
Another complicating factor, Green said, is that storms with rain and high winds were forecast for the weekend.
Officials are mulling whether to “preemptively power down or not for a short period of time, because right now all of the infrastructure is weaker”.
The blaze that swept into centuries-old Lahaina last week destroyed nearly every building in the town of 13,000.
That fire has been 85% contained, according to the county. Another blaze known as the Upcountry fire was 60% contained.
Even where the flames have retreated, authorities have warned that toxic by-products may remain, including in drinking water, after the flames spewed poisonous fumes. That has left many unable to return home.
President Joe Biden and his wife Jill will visit Hawaii next week, the White House said.
Biden and the first lady will “meet with first responders, survivors, as well as federal, state, and local officials” on Monday.
.@POTUS: I’ve spoken with Governor Josh Green multiple times and reassured him the state will have everything it needs from the Federal government.
— Karine Jean-Pierre (@PressSec) August 15, 2023
During a stop in Milwaukee to highlight his economic agenda, Biden pledged that “every asset they need will be there for them”.
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