Hawaii wildfire survivors slam warning system failures as officials struggle to ID victims

Just one week ago the neighbourhoods of Maui were bustling and surrounded by colourful foliage. Now, ash and soot blanket nearly every surface, buildings and homes are destroyed, and nearly 100 people are dead.

Fast-moving wildfires hit unknowing residents in Maui and other parts of Hawaii last week leading to destruction and death.

While some people managed to escape the blazes before they engulfed towns, others had no choice but to flee to the ocean to prevent themselves from being burned.

As of early Monday morning, the death toll is at 96 people, with most of the remains being unidentifiable due to the scorching fires.

Now, as officials work to identify victims and try to find hundreds of other missing people, locals are wondering why emergency alerts were not sounded and what could have been done to lessen the damage.

The wildfires in Hawaii are some of the deadliest to occur in the United States and one of the worst natural disasters in Hawaii’s history.

More than 2,800 acres of land have been burned and firefighters are still working to extinguish flames and contain smaller fires throughout Maui.

Part of the reason the fires were so deadly was the lack of preparation and warning that many residents were given before the flames engulfed entire towns like Lahaina.

Shortly after midnight on 8 August, smaller wildfires began breaking out but quickly turned into massive blazes – in part due to 60 miles-in-hour winds caused by a hurricane hundreds of miles off the coast of Hawaii.

The strong winds carrying the flames combined with the island’s drought conditions, caused flammable vegetation to erupt into flames rapidly.

Though the National Weather Service (NWS) warned Hawaii that conditions could create “high fire danger”, it appears little action was taken to conduct evacuations and warnings.

An aerial image taken on August 10, 2023 shows destroyed homes and buildings burned to the ground in Lahaina (AFP via Getty Images)

From the time the wildfires were recognised on Tuesday evening until the morning when they spiraled out of control, residents say they were given little information.

JD Hessemer, a business owner in Lahaina, told CBS News last week that he received “nothing” on his phone regarding an emergency alert system. He made the decision to evacuate early on Tuesday himself.

“I received nothing at no point in time,” Mr Hessemer said. “I got nothing on my phone,” he told the network.

Initially, officials told news outlets that they sounded alarms indicating residents should look to their phones, radio or television for further instruction. But later a spokesperson for the Hawaii Management Agency confirmed to NPR that officials did not activate the system.

One Maui resident, Ydriss Nouara, told Sky News that police told him to jump into the ocean as flames approached the town of Lahaina.

“The ocean was pulling us, we had debris falling on us, we were trying to get wet and not burned,” he said.

Mr Nouara was in the ocean for approximately three hours before being rescued.

Lahaina residents escape wildfires by jumping into ocean (@chefjoshuamarten / TMX)

Similar stories of chaos and fear are evident from the victims that have been identified.

The remains of four family members were found in a burned car near their home in Lahaina. The four people, Salote Takafua, her son Tony Takafua and parents Faaso and Malui Fonua Tone, were seemingly trying to flee from the blaze before they got caught.

Maui police chief John Pelletier told reporters in a press conference that they don’t know how many people have died as a result of the wildfire, but that death toll number will likely increase in the coming days.

Cadaver dogs have searched just three per cent of the search area for the remains of people as of Monday morning. So far, 96 people have been found and very few of them have been identified due to the state of their bodies.

“The remains we’re finding is through a fire that melted metal,” Mr Pelletier said. “When we pick up the remains and they fall apart.”

Mr Pelletier urged people who are missing family members to submit their DNA to the Family Assistance Center to help with identifying the victims

“Nobody saw this coming,” Mr Pelletier said. “If we did, we wouldn’t have this situation, but this is a tragedy.”

On 12 August, three law firms filed a class-action lawsuit against Hawaiian Electric – the company that supplies the islands with 95 per cent of its electricity.

The lawsuit, obtained by Spectrum News, claims that the company “inexcusable kept their power lines energised during forecasted high fire danger conditions.”

They are alleging that several energy companies in Hawaii and Maui did not take proper action when the NWS issued the fire danger warning. De-energising power lines is common practice in the Western United States when high wildfire warnings are issued.

“There was absolutely knowledge within the state and within the electric industry that fire was a huge, huge concern on the island of Maui, and even more so than any of the other islands,” the complaint says.

People watch as smoke and flames fill the air from raging wildfires on Front Street in downtown Lahaina, Maui on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2023 (Alan Dickar via AP)

In a statement provided to The Independent, Hawaiian Electric said, “As has always been our policy, we don’t comment on pending litigation. Our immediate focus is on supporting emergency response efforts on Maui and restoring power for our customers and communities as quickly as possible. At this early stage, the cause of the fire has not been determined and we will work with the state and county as they conduct their review.”

Hawaii Senator, Mazie Hirono, told CNN she was “not going to make any excused for this tragedy” and that the attorney general has launched a review into the alarm system and actions that were taken.