Fire 'deemed to be out' roared back to life, fueling Maui tragedy: Updates - USA Trending Blog
Fire 'deemed to be out' roared back to life, fueling Maui tragedy: Updates - USA Trending Blog
A Maui fire that authorities "deemed to be out" roared to back to life last week, fueling the inferno that claimed at least 96 lives in this historic oceanside town, Gov. Josh Green said late Sunday.
More than 2,700 structures were destroyed in Lahaina and an estimated value of $5.6 billion "has gone away," Green said in a video posted on social media. He said the search for human remains was continuing across the devastated town and the death toll was likely to rise.
The Lahaina fire was one of multiple blazes that began burning Tuesday on Maui.
"It must have not been completely extinguished," Green said, adding flames were then fanned by winds of up to 81 mph. “With those kinds of winds and 1,000-degree temperatures, ultimately all the pictures that you will see will be easy to understand."
Green said the "fire hurricane," which he said was new in the age of global warming, was the "ultimate reason" the death toll has been so high, topping any U.S. wildfire in more than 100 years.
"We will build back together," Green said.
Maui rescue teams search ruins'full of our loved ones'; Hawaii churches offer prayers for dead, missing: Updates
Developments:
∎Green said FEMA has 416 people working in Hawaii, including Administrator Deanne Criswell. The agency has provided dozens of searchers and 20 dogs to aid the search for human remains in Lahaina, the governor said.
More than 500 hotel rooms have been arranged for those left homeless, and more rooms have been set aside for safety and fire officials working at the scene, Green said.
∎The Upcountry/Kula fire that sprawled about 678 acres was 60% contained, Maui officials said in a statement late Sunday. The Lahaina fire, estimated to stretch across 2,170 acres, is 85% contained, according to officials.
'It's heartbreaking':Without food and fuel, Maui locals lean on neighbors to survive.
Malia Waring's house wasn’t destroyed when the nation’s deadliest wildfire in a century ripped through Maui last week. But her family is gone and she can’t bear to sit at home thinking about them. Ever since her cousin came to tell her that four members of their family, including her 8-year-old nephew, burned to death in their car while trying to escape the blaze, Waring, 65, has been spending time with friends at Napili Park, which has become one of several crowdsourced aid depots in the beloved, nearly destroyed area of Lahaina.
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