In Maui Wildfire, Many Fear Children Are Large Share of the Dead
Christine Mai-Duc and Alicia A. Caldwell
With schools closed, Lahaina parents left children at home while they worked; confirmed death toll of 110 is expected to rise
MAUI, Hawaii—As officials continue tallying the dead from last week’s devastating fire in Lahaina, many here fear that a large number of children left home while schools were closed are among the victims.
Authorities said Wednesday that at least 110 people died in the fire that destroyed the coastal town of 13,000. They have said that number is likely to rise significantly, as they have only searched 38% of the disaster zone. Officials have only released the names and ages of two victims, both in their 70s.
Elle Cochran, who represents West Maui including Lahaina in the Hawaii House of Representatives, said she expects the final death toll will be at least several hundred people. A large portion of the deceased, she said, might turn out to be children.
Several schools in and around Lahaina were set to open last Tuesday, but classes were canceled when the power went out that morning. Many families in the largely working-class community left children home alone or with older relatives while parents went to work at businesses including resorts, which are located outside of Lahaina and were largely spared.
“Our parents work one, two, three jobs just to get by and they can’t afford to take a day off,” said Jessica Sill, a kindergarten teacher at Lahaina’s King Kamehameha III Elementary School. “Without school, there was nowhere for [kids] to go that day.”
Sill said two of her former students lost a 7-year-old cousin, who was found alongside his family in a burned-out car.
For the students who survived, she said she’s worried about how they’ll be able to process the trauma of what’s happened: “We are so worried for them and we will do whatever we need to support them through this catastrophe.”
Maui officials didn’t respond to requests for comment.
A little more than one quarter of Lahaina’s population was under 18, according to U.S. census data, higher than the national figure of 21.7%.
At Maui’s forensic center, where authorities are working to identify remains recovered from Lahaina, there were five refrigerated trucks parked Monday to hold what was left of recovered bodies. On Saturday, there were three trucks.
In a statement Tuesday, local authorities said they have identified an additional three victims, but information about them won’t be released until their families are notified. Officials have said most bodies were burned so badly that fingerprinting isn’t possible, meaning DNA matches might be the only way to identify them. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is sending a team to help identify remains.
By Tuesday, police had searched a little less than one-third of Lahaina with cadaver-sniffing dogs, meaning bodies in most of the town have yet to be found.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green told CBS News Monday that the number of missing people from Lahaina was about 1,300, down from an earlier total of more than 2,000.
“Our hearts will break beyond repair perhaps if that means that many more dead,” Green said. “None of us think that, but we are prepared for many tragic stories.”
Matt Britt, a 60-year-old Lahaina resident who evacuated as embers fell on his car, said the fire tore down the slopes surrounding the town and into densely populated neighborhoods that have multigenerational families living together. Many had second dwellings on their property, called mother-in-law units.
“Those types of places, which were upslope, had the least warning,” Britt said.
U.S. census data shows the average Lahaina household had 3.71 people, compared with 2.6 nationwide.
Kelly Gallego, an eighth-grade teacher at Lahaina Intermediate School, said she is volunteering at shelters in hopes of finding some of her students.
“When it comes to thinking about some of those families not being there…I don’t have words to express how much my heart is breaking now,” she said.
—Adolfo Flores, Zusha Elinson and Erin Ailworth contributed to this article.
Write to Christine Mai-Duc at christine.maiduc@wsj.com and Alicia A. Caldwell at alicia.caldwell@wsj.com
Appeared in the August 17, 2023, print edition as 'As Maui Counts Victims, Many Fear for Children'.
|
|