Maui fires – latest: California woman named as first tourist among victims as residents start returning home

Authorities have confirmed 115 deaths following the deadliest wildfire in more than a century in the United States

President Biden and First Lady arrive in Maui

A California woman has been named as the first tourist to have died in the devastating Maui wildfires.

Officials identified 72-year-old Theresa Cook from Pollock Pines in northern California as among the victims of the deadly blaze in the historic Hawaiian town of Lahaina.

Some 115 deaths have been confirmed following the deadliest wildfire in more than a century in the United States. The unconfirmed list of missing people currently stands at 1,100 names.

Hawaiian officials also pleaded with relatives of those missing to come forward and give DNA samples, saying the low number provided so far threatens to hinder efforts to identify any remains discovered in the ashes.

President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden met with first responders and survivors on Monday and promised that the federal government would be with them “for as long as it takes” to rebuild the community.

Survivors were also voicing fears of a potential wave of land grabs by realtors and investors that could push Hawaiian locals from the island.

Key points

• California woman identified as victim of Hawaii fires
• Biden tells Hawaii that the US ‘grieves with you’ as he surveys Maui wildfire devastation
• How did Maui wildfires start?
• Maui officials say 100 per cent of residential properties searched
• Biden appoints new FEMA administrator to Maui

[23 August 2023 17:00 · Ariana Baio]

Maui residents who disobeyed barricades survived fire

Before the Maui wildfires ravaged the town, officials closed Lahaina Bypass Road due to the fires – but one family is claiming that the road was one of the only ways out of the burning town.

Nate Baird and Courtney Stapleton told The Associated Press that they took their sons, Mr Baird’s mother and their dog to escape the fire on 8 August and reached the road where officials told them to turn around.

However, behind them, the town of Lahaina was already completely on fire.

Mr Baird and Ms Stapleton chose to ignore the warning and bypassed the cones escaping to a neighbouring town.

“Nobody realized how little time we really had,” Mr Baird said. “Like even us being from the heart of the fire, we did not comprehend. Like we literally had minutes and one wrong turn. We would all be dead right now.”

Several reports indicated those who used Front Street to try and escape the flames ended up in gridlock.

Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said during a news conference that officers never stopped people from leaving the area.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[23 August 2023 17:45 · Ariana Baio]

Police says final searches of multi-layer structures is underway

In a news conference on Tuesday, Maui police chief John Pelletier said officials were conducting searches in the “final division” of multi-level structures in Lahaina.

Pointing to a map, Mr Pelletier said, “Baker Hill, Sugar and Front are the final divisions, if you will, of multi-level structures.”

Teams are going into the structures starting from the top floor and working their way down to find victims of the wildfires that devastated the area on 8 August.

Maui police chief John Pelletier shares the breakdown of searches in Lahaina in a news conference on 23 August (County of Maui / Facebook )

[23 August 2023 18:00 · Ariana Baio]

Watch: Joe Biden comments on how 'hot ground' is while touring Maui wildfire devastation

[23 August 2023 18:45 · Ariana Baio]

Few DNA samples make it difficult to identify victims

As of Wednesday morning, only 104 families have submitted DNA samples to Maui officials, which makes identifying victims much harder to process.

“The number of family members who are coming in to provide DNA samples is a lot lower than they’ve seen in other disasters,” Maui County prosecuting attorney Andrew Martin told CBS.

Officials, including the mayor and governor have called on people who are missing family members to submit their DNA to help match people.

[23 August 2023 19:00 · Ariana Baio]

Video of Joe Biden ‘sleeping’ in Maui is false, reports say

Across Twitter, several right-wing people have shared a video of President Joe Biden visiting Maui and, appearing to, fall asleep while listening to a speech.

The video, slightly out of focus, shows Mr Biden with his head down appearing to have his eyes closed.

But NBC News, PolitiFact and Newsweek all fact-checked the video saying Mr Biden did not fall asleep but just put his head down for approximately 10 seconds.

A high-resolution version of the video from CSPAN shows Mr Biden looking down while listening to the speaker and nodding in agreement. His eyes are open the entire time.

[23 August 2023 19:37 · Louise Boyle]

Hawaii officials urge families of people missing after deadly fires to give DNA samples

Authorities in Hawaii pleaded on Tuesday with relatives of those missing after the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century to come forward and give DNA samples, saying the low number provided so far threatens to hinder efforts to identify any remains discovered in the ashes.

Some 1,000 to 1,100 names remain on the FBI’s tentative, unconfirmed list of people unaccounted for after wildfires destroyed the historic seaside community of Lahaina on Maui. But the family assistance center so far has collected DNA from just 104 families, said Julie French, who is helping lead efforts to identify remains by DNA analysis.

Maui Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Martin, who is running the center, said that the number of family members coming in to provide DNA samples is “a lot lower” than in other major disasters around the country, though it wasn’t immediately clear why.

“That’s our concern, that’s why I’m here today, that’s why I’m asking for this help,” he said.

[23 August 2023 20:02 · Louise Boyle]

Watch: Joe Biden comments on how ‘hot the ground is' while touring Maui wildfire devastation

[23 August 2023 20:28 · Louise Boyle]

In deadly Maui fires, many had no warning and no way out. Those who dodged barricades survived

As flames tore through a West Maui neighborhood, car after car of fleeing residents headed for the only paved road out of town in a desperate race for safety.

And car after car was turned back toward the rapidly spreading wildfire by a barricade blocking access to Highway 30.

One family swerved around the barricade and was safe in a nearby town 48 minutes later, another drove their 4-wheel-drive car down a dirt road to escape.

One man took an dirt road uphill, climbing above the fire and watching as Lahaina burned. He later picked his way through the flames, smoke and rubble to pull survivors to safety. Read more at The Associated Press

[23 August 2023 21:02 · Louise Boyle]

Pictured: Hawaiian workers craft lei

A worker at Maui Floral makes a lei, a traditional Hawaiian symbol that has taken on added significance in times of grief for the community of Lahaina in Makawao, Hawaii, (REUTERS)

[23 August 2023 21:30 · Louise Boyle]

FEMA website set up to debunk Maui wildfire conspiracy theories

The US government’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has established a website to help fight conspiracy theories in the wake of Maui’s wildfires.

“Help keep yourself, your family and your community safe after the Hawaii wildfires by being aware of rumors and scams and sharing official information from trusted sources,” it reads.

Misinformation has proliferated since the disaster including that the blazes were started by a “directed energy weapon”.

FEMA has previously created these websites to counteract myths including in the wake of 2017’s Hurricane Harvey in Texas.