Maui officials urge patience as search for the missing inches ahead

A week after a ferocious wildfire ravaged the Maui resort town of Lahaina, search teams with cadaver dogs have combed through just a quarter of the disaster zone, as anxious people await news of hundreds of loved ones still believed to be missing.

Local, state and federal rescue workers were proceeding as fast as possible, Maui County Police Chief John Pelletier said, but there was a "reverence" that encumbered the task of finding more of the dead, which already number at least 99 people.

"It's not just ash on your clothing when you take it off. It's our loved ones," Pelletier said, relating the instructions that a director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency gave rescue workers in a briefing.

"Patience, prayers, perseverance: That's what we need," he said at a Monday briefing, holding out hope that teams would get through 85% to 90% of the disaster zone by this weekend.

The deadliest US wildfire in more than 100 years destroyed or damaged more than 2,200 buildings, 86% of them residential, causing an estimated US$5.5 billion (about RM25.3 billion) in damage, authorities said.

Even as Hawaii officials promised more help for the displaced, some Lahaina residents were taking matters into their own hands. Kanamu Balinbin, a local football coach, set up a relief camp where people who lost their homes and belongings can find water and food.

"I was devastated. I consider myself a strong leader, but it broke me," Balindin said about his emotions after witnessing the destruction. "This is what keeps me going, helping people. A lot of us are at that stage.”

Maui County briefly relaxed rules allowing Lahaina residents back to their homes but suspended the visits on Monday after curiosity seekers clogged streets being used by rescue workers, officials said. They also feared human remains may be trampled on. One person was arrested for trespassing, Pelletier said.

Fueled by winds gusting up to 128km per hour, the inferno was burning at temperatures that reached 538 degrees Celsius last Tuesday when it raced from the dry grasslands outside town into Lahaina, turning block after block into ash.

Utility under scrutiny

It remained unclear what ignited the fires but the local electricity provider, Hawaiian Electric Industries, has come under increasing scrutiny over whether its equipment played any role in the blazes.

On Monday, the utility defended its decision to keep power flowing through its system even though Maui was buffeted last week by powerful winds fanned by a distant hurricane, raising the risk of downed lines. Proposed class action lawsuits have been filed against the company, whose stock fell as much as 40% on Monday.

Hawaiian Electric CEO Shelee Kimura said the utility has no program in place to shut off electricity. Doing so would have created problems for residents who rely on powered medical equipment, she said. In addition, electricity powers pumps that provide water in Lahaina.

“There are choices that need to be made, and all of those factors play into it,” she said. Kimura said the utility would investigate what, if any role, it played in the wildfires.

In California, where toppled power lines were blamed for setting off several deadly blazes in recent years, power shutdowns are a standard precaution when the risk of wildfires is high.

Help is arriving for those left homeless. Nearly 2,000 housing units, including 400 hotel rooms, 1,400 Airbnb units and 160 private homes were being made available, Hawaii Governor Josh Green said at a news conference.

More than 3,200 Hawaii residents have registered to receive federal assistance, and that number is expected to rise, Jeremy Greenberg, the Federal Emergency Management Agency's director of response operations, told reporters.

Meanwhile, the search for missing loved ones persisted. Officials declined to estimate how many remained unaccounted for but promised they were meticulously verifying the status of all.

A crowd-sourced database circulating on social media showed about 1,130 individuals listed as "not located" on a list of about 5,200 people as of Monday afternoon. The database includes names collected from "missing persons" notices posted at shelters as well as information submitted by loved ones.

The American Red Cross had received over 2,500 calls from people trying to find and reunite with relatives and friends missing from the fire, and about 800 of those have been resolved, said Chris Young, senior director for operations and readiness.

Green acknowledged the difficult balance between the need to keep people from obstructing recovery efforts and Maui's heavy dependence on tourism revenue.

"It would be potentially catastrophic if no one traveled to the island," the governor said.