Police say a new fire burning on the Hawaiian island of Maui has triggered the evacuation of a community north-east of the area that burned earlier this week, killing at least 80 people.
The Maui police department said the fire prompted the evacuation of Kaanapali in West Maui on Friday night.
The number of confirmed fatalities in the announcement by the County of Maui marked an increase on the previous figure of 67.
Officials said the fire is not yet contained.
The town Lahaina has been mostly destroyed by the blaze, with many survivors saying they did not receive a warning giving them enough time to flee.
Residents of the town have returned to a scene of utter devastation.
Hawaii’s attorney general Anne Lopez announced plans to conduct a comprehensive review of decision-making and standing policies impacting upon the response to the deadly wildfires.
“My Department is committed to understanding the decisions that were made before and during the wildfires and to sharing with the public the results of this review,” Ms Lopez said in a statement.
The wildfires are the state’s deadliest natural disaster in decades, surpassing a 1960 tsunami that killed 61 people.
An even deadlier tsunami in 1946, which killed more than 150 on the Big Island, prompted the development of a territory-wide emergency system, with sirens that are tested monthly.
Many fire survivors said they did not hear any sirens or receive a warning giving them enough time to prepare, realising they were in danger only when they saw the flames or heard explosions.
Attorney General Lopez announces the initiation of a comprehensive review of decision-making concerning Hawaii wildfireshttps://t.co/zVPsHg0FFO
— Hawaii AG Anne E. Lopez (@AtghIgov) August 12, 2023
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“There was no warning,” said Lynn Robinson, who lost her home.
Hawaii emergency management records do not indicate warning sirens were sounded before people had to run for their lives.
Officials sent alerts to mobile phones, televisions and radio stations, but widespread power and mobile phone outages may have limited their reach.
State governor Josh Green warned the death toll would likely rise as search and rescue operations continue. Authorities set a curfew from 10pm on Friday until 6am on Saturday (9am on Saturday to 5pm BST).
Mr Green told Hawaii News Now: “The recovery’s going to be extraordinarily complicated, but we do want people to get back to their homes and just do what they can to assess safely, because it’s pretty dangerous.”
Cadaver-sniffing dogs were deployed to search for the dead, Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen Jr said.
Fuelled by a dry summer and strong winds from a passing hurricane, at least three wildfires erupted on Maui, racing through parched brush covering the island.
The most serious blaze swept into Lahaina on Tuesday and left a grid of grey rubble wedged between the blue ocean and lush green slopes.
Associated Press journalists found the devastation included nearly every building on Front Street, the heart of historic Lahaina and the economic hub of Maui.
The wildfire is already projected to be the second-costliest disaster in Hawaii’s history, behind only Hurricane Iniki in 1992, according to disaster and risk modelling firm Karen Clark & Company.
The fire is the deadliest in the US since the 2018 Camp Fire in California, which killed at least 85 people and destroyed the town of Paradise.
The danger on Maui was well known. Maui County’s hazard mitigation plan updated in 2020 identified Lahaina and other West Maui communities as having frequent wildfires and several buildings at risk.
The report also noted West Maui had the island’s second-highest rate of households without a vehicle and the highest rate of non-English speakers.
“This may limit the population’s ability to receive, understand and take expedient action during hazard events,” the plan stated.
Maui’s firefighting efforts may have been hampered by limited staff and equipment.
Bobby Lee, president of the Hawaii Firefighters Association, said there are a maximum of 65 county firefighters working at any given time with responsibility for three islands: Maui, Molokai and Lanai.
The department has about 13 fire engines and two ladder trucks, but no off-road vehicles to thoroughly attack brush fires before they reach roads or populated areas, he said.
2:30pm Update on the Maui Fires. For more information on how to help go to: https://t.co/tI37h4hIkx pic.twitter.com/qIUAbIGOgr
— Governor Josh Green (@GovJoshGreenMD) August 12, 2023
Maui water officials warned Kula and Lahaina residents not to drink running water, which may be contaminated even after boiling, and to only take short, lukewarm showers in well-ventilated rooms to avoid possible chemical vapour exposure.
Lahaina resident Riley Curran said he fled his Front Street home after climbing up a neighbouring building to get a better look. He doubts county officials could have done more due to the speed of the onrushing flames.
“It’s not that people didn’t try to do anything,” Mr Curran said. “The fire went from 0 to 100.”
Mr Curran said he had seen horrendous wildfires growing up in California, but “I’ve never seen one eat an entire town in four hours”.
