Hawaii releases names of 388 missing
Authorities in Hawaii for the first time released a list naming 388 people who are still unaccounted for in the aftermath of the deadliest wildfires in America in more than a century, which killed at least 115 people.
The fires devastated the coastal town of Lahaina on the island of Maui, as well as other areas of the island, more than two weeks ago. Search-and-rescue teams are still sifting through the last patches of ash and rubble looking for human remains.
In publicizing the names late Thursday, authorities hope to narrow the tally of the missing. In a statement, Maui Police Chief John Pelletier asked anyone who survived the fire to come forward and remove their name from the list. Officials had said earlier Tuesday that 1,000 to 1,100 people remained unaccounted for.
It was not immediately clear why the list released Thursday had fewer names. Pelletier said the initial list includes anyone for whom officials have a first and last name and contact information for the person who reported them missing.
Officials have been bracing the public for the likelihood that the number of confirmed dead from the fires — which stands at 115 — will rise substantially.
Earlier Thursday, Maui officials identified the first child known to have been killed by the fires: Tony Takafua, who was 7. The victims so far have largely been older residents.
The decision to release the names of the missing came after FBI officials, along with Maui Police, the Red Cross and other agencies, examined various lists compiled by shelters, cross referencing and combining them into one tally. Along the way, they identified many survivors and removed their names.
Within hours of the list being publicly released, several people posted on social media that several of those named had already said they were alive. One woman wrote, in response to a Facebook post on the list by Maui County, that she had found two people whom she knew had survived. “Hoping there are many more like this,” she wrote.
The final toll from the fire, which began in the grassy hillsides above Lahaina and, fueled by high winds, raced through the center of town to the Pacific Ocean, will probably not be known for months. Many people died near Front Street in Lahaina, which runs along the sea wall, in their cars or in the ocean. Many were trapped in traffic trying to escape the fire, with the surrounding roads blocked by downed power lines. Some older residents died at a senior living center.
So far, authorities have released the names of 35 people who are confirmed dead and have been identified through DNA testing. Four-fifths of them — 28 people — were older than 60.
Countless families have endured an agonizing wait for news of loved ones who are unaccounted for. In the absence of official word, many have held out hope, traversing Maui clutching missing posters, placing them in post offices, hotels, parks and shelters.
Many relatives of the missing have been reluctant to submit DNA samples for comparison with human remains recovered from the rubble of Lahaina. On Tuesday, authorities said they had received only 104 samples from family members, and they renewed urgent pleas for people to submit DNA, promising that the information will not be used for anything other than identifying the dead of Lahaina, and will not be entered into any other government databases.
Veronica Mendoza Jachowski, the executive director of Lahaina Roots Reborn, a social services organization that was formed in the aftermath of the fire, said many immigrants who may have lost someone in the fire have been worried about how their DNA would be used.
“‘Is it OK for me to go? Is it safe to go?’” she said she was asked. “At first we didn’t have a clear answer, but now we have the assurance.”