The number of people who died in fires on the island of Maui, Hawaii, has risen to 89: Maui is the worst wildfire in US history for more than a century, and the worst in Hawaii since became a US state in 1959. However, the authorities believe that the number of deaths could increase “considerably”, as he said Hawaii Gov. Josh Green on Saturday.
Investigations into the causes of the fires have also begun: officially the reasons why they started are not yet known, but the media these days are wondering if the prevention activities had been sufficient, above all because the Maui authorities they were aware that the island was at high fire risk this season. In addition, controversies are ongoing over the warning and evacuation operations, which have been slow and disorganized and have slowed down and made the escape of the population from Lahaina, the city of 13,000 inhabitants most affected by the disaster, extremely chaotic.
– Read also: Photos of the devastation after the Maui fires
According to estimates by Maui authorities, 1,000 people were still missing on the island on Saturday evening. In all likelihood the vast majority got to safety in various ways, escaping by car or boat, but they have not communicated this to the authorities. However, it is possible that among these 1,000 there are dead people who have not yet been found. There are also currently 4,500 homeless survivors.
In Lahaina, the operations to recover potential victims are still ongoing but are extremely complicated: both because some small fires have not yet been completely extinguished, and because of the enormous devastation caused by the flames. Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said Saturday only three percent of the city of Lahaina had been searched with dogs trained to search for corpses and human remains. Identifying the dead is also extremely complicated because “when we find our families and our relatives, the remains we find have been exposed to a fire that has even melted the metal,” says Pelletier.
(Stephen Lam/San Francisco breaking latest news via AP)
In the area devastated by the fire, where practically all the buildings have been destroyed, the rescuers go house by house: with orange paint they put an “X” on the houses that have already been inspected and add “HR” when they are found in the house human remains (“human remains”).
The great confusion about the missing and dead people is partly the result of the disorganization of the evacuation operations at the time of the fires. The island of Maui and the city of Lahaina had disaster response plans, but they were only partially implemented. Lahaina did have an emergency siren system though it has not been activated. And the flight of citizens was confused and disorderly: during the fires the main road leading out of the city immediately became clogged with traffic, and many people were forced to flee by boat or even by swimming when they managed to escape.
There are also controversies against Hawaiian Electric, the company that supplies electricity to almost all the islands of Hawaii, which knew that in this period the risk of fires in the area was very high and, according to some experts, it would not have done enough for prevention. In particular, in the days of the fires in the Pacific Ocean hurricane Dora was passing, which despite being about a thousand kilometers away from Hawaii had brought very strong winds to Maui. These winds – together with the particularly dry vegetation after more than a year of drought – then allowed the fire to feed and spread rapidly.
In the event of extremely high winds, power companies in some US states cut off power to affected areas to reduce the risk of starting fires. It’s an extreme measure that causes inconvenience to residents, but has recently been implemented in California, Oregon, Nevada and other states. Experts recommend cutting off the electricity supply because very strong winds can often bring down light poles or break high voltage cables, which in turn can cause sparks and end up on the vegetation. The reason for the fires in Maui is still unclear. At present, however, it is known that Hawaiian Electric did not take this measure in the days of the fires.