The death toll following the wildfires that tore through portions of the Hawaiian island of Maui earlier this month has reached 114, while the mayor of Lahaina has suggested that more than 850 people are still unaccounted for. The Lahaina fire, one of several fires fanned by winds from nearby Hurricane Dora, has now become the deadliest fire in modern U.S. history, surpassing the 2018 Camp Fire, which rapidly destroyed the California town of Paradise, killing 85. Like the Camp Fire, the Lahaina fire moved with terrifying speed, destroying up to 75% of the town in just minutes.
The response to the fire has met with severe criticism from survivors. Although Hawaii maintains one of the largest networks of emergency alert sirens, those warnings were not activated in advance of the fire. Instead, authorities chose to utilize cell phone alerts that may have been sent after communications and power in the town were cut off. In addition, gaps in firefighting equipment and capacity meant that island firefighters were quickly overwhelmed by the speed and extent of the blaze. The state’s top emergency management official abruptly resigned following the disaster.
In addition to the lives lost, the fire destroyed 2,700 structures in Lahaina, 86% of which were homes. As many as 4,500 people are now estimated to be in need of shelter. President Biden quickly approved a major disaster declaration following the fire, approving individual assistance for impacted individuals and support for the state’s response efforts. Currently, nearly 2,000 individuals are residing in hotel rooms across the island, with many households that escaped damage from the fire hosting those who are now homeless. Search and rescue efforts are continuing in impacted areas.
Lahaina is one of the largest cities on the island of Maui and is home to a large population of Native Hawaiian residents. Although once a wetland area, the land around the town was drained by missionaries and businesses from the continental U.S., displacing Indigenous villagers in the effort to establish tourist facilities. The town had served as a cultural and service hub for the surrounding area, with several large affordable housing developments and shelters for individuals experiencing homelessness.
NLIHC facilitates the Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition (DHRC), a group of more than 850 local, state, and national organizations working to ensure that all disaster survivors receive the assistance they need to recover. The DHRC and its members have reached out to members on the island as well as the state’s congressional delegation. We will continue to track the impact of this wildfire on households with low incomes and work to ensure the availability and accessibility of disaster assistance.
Find out more about the DHRC at: https://bit.ly/2NOHusW