Hawaii fires: ’Near riot’ ensues in destroyed town as death toll reaches at least 80
Police said concerns desperate Hawaiians could stumble over dead bodies led them to close access to a town as tje death toll reaches 80.
A “near riot” has ensued in the aftermath of the devastating Hawaii bushfires that have killed at least 80 people.
Angry motorists railed at police after officers closed a road. But authorities have said desperate people trying to get home may have led them to stumble over dead bodies.
The blazes that ripped through the island of Maui have now become Hawaii’s deadliest natural disaster with fears the death toll will rise with hundreds of people unaccounted for.
Questions are being asked about whether adequate warning was given of the fires’ approach with claims sirens didn’t go off or were inaudible.
On Friday, police reopened a main road into the almost entirely destroyed historic city of Lahaina for the first time since the fires swept through. The aim was to get supplies to people still in homes on the other side of the fire zone.
Traffic initially was smooth, with police screening motorists to ensure only Lahaina residents or hotel guests, could be let in, reported the New York Post.
‘Near riot’
But by 5pm, police shut down the road in both directions, leaving motorists furious and spurring chaos.
It’s been claimed that some drivers parked on the highway and walked into areas yet to be deemed safe, and some got “emotional” when told by authorities to leave the town, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
The newspaper reported an officer saying a “near riot” broke out in Lahaina between about 100 people and officers.
A spokesman for Maui County, that incudes the affected area, said a number of motorists had failed to drive through the fire zone and out the other side and had instead tried to inspect homes and properties.
“This area is an active police scene, and we need to preserve the dignity of lives lost and respect their surviving family.”
The spokesman said people were increasing the danger to themselves and delaying search operations.
“Those caught within this zone will be escorted out and may be arrested.”
Anthony La Puente made it back his home and found there was almost nothing left.
“The only thing I can say is that it hurts. It takes a toll on you emotionally,” the 44-year old said.
The 12,000-strong town, which has stood on the island of Maui for hundreds of years, was once the proud home of the Hawaiian royal family.
Thousands of tourists visit every year to soak up the atmosphere, to wander along the scenic harbour front, and to idle under a majestic banian tree reputed to be the oldest in the United States.
‘You made it’
An AFP media team that walked through the town on Friday found the blackened corpses of cats, birds and other animals caught in flames.
Electricity cables dangled uselessly from stricken poles, and small pockets of fire continued to burn.
Spray-painted Xs marked the skeletal vehicles that lay in the street — a sign to firefighters they have been checked for victims.
All through the town, there were piles of still-warm ashes where family homes once stood.
Using the metal frame of a chair as a makeshift shovel, Mr La Puente sifted through what was once his kitchen, uncovering a Starbucks tumbler.
But the boxes of photographs and the mementos from his 16 years in the house were gone — including the treasured items of his late father.
“I had packed up my dad’s belongings” hoping to sort through them at some point, he said.
But that will never happen.
“Now it’s gone.” Elsewhere there was shocked elation as neighbours hugged.
“You made it!” cried Chyna Cho, as she embraced Amber Langdon amid the ruins. “I was trying to find you.” For Keith Todd there was the unspeakable relief of finding his home still standing, his solar panels still pumping electricity to his kitchen.
“I just couldn’t believe it,” Mr Todd told AFP.
“I’m so grateful, but at the same time it’s so devastating,” he said, looking around at the unrecognisable piles that were once his neighbours’ homes.
Mr Todd was resolved to stay at his house, fearful of the looters that people say have been targeting empty properties.
“I will stay here, now that I know my house and my things are here. I will sleep here just in case someone tries to come in,” he said.
Banian tree
Here and there in the warscape were pockets of improbable hope. The Maria Lanakila Catholic Church was seemingly unscathed, looming over the ashes of Waine’e Street, a small fire burning in front of it like some kind of perverse Eternal Flame.
The stone walls of the historic Hale Pa’ahao prison still stood, but the wooden building that was used to punish unruly sailors was no more — 170 years of history wiped out.
Blocks away, Front Street, where restaurants had jostled with clothing stores for a view of the ocean, was all but gone.
Boats that had been moored in the harbour days earlier were blackened, melted or sunk.
Among the ruins, the huge banian tree still stood upright, its branches denuded of green and its sooty trunk transformed into an awkward skeleton.
The tree has dominated Lahaina for 150 years, watching over an island that was an independent monarchy, then a US territory, and finally a full US state.
Bezos’ shock $153m Hawaii fire move
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has vowed to donate $US100m ($A153m) to Hawaii’s wildfire recovery efforts, as the death toll continues to soar.
The world’s third-richest man announced the support on Instagram, where he reported a message from his fiancee Lauren Sanchez.
It read: “Jeff and I are heartbroken by what’s happening in Maui. We are thinking of the families that have lost so much and a community that has been left devastated.
“The immediate needs are important, and so is the longer term rebuilding that will have to happen — even after much of the attention has subsided. Jeff and I are creating a Maui Fund and are dedicating $100 million to help Maui get back on its feet now and over the coming years as the continuing needs reveal themselves”.
Earlier on Saturday, dramatic before-and-after photos emerged which revealed the tragic impact of the wildfires.
And shocking footage on social media showed locals in Maui scaling cliffs and jumping into the ocean to flee flames.
In the moving video posted on TikTok, colourful aerial pictures of a historic courthouse, major shopping mall, fish market and school were contrasted with grey, smoke-covered photos taken from the same angle since ferocious wildfires tore through Maui from Tuesday.
Lack of sirens
Governor Josh Green said he’d ordered a review of the emergency response to the tragedy in Lahaina, the New York Times reported.
His announcement followed an interview on CNN in which Mr Green was pressed about the lack of audible sirens and warnings about the fire.
Even when confirming the review, he maintained unusually powerful winds and fast-moving flames had complicated the effort, and called it an “impossible situation”.
According to the outlet, the US Coast Guard said helicopters, rescue boats and a plane were still searching the waters around Maui for missing people, but had not rescued anyone since Wednesday morning.
In another powerful video posted to TikTok, Lahaina residents were seen swimming in the treacherous waves while wearing backpacks and desperately holding onto what appears to be planks of wood.
Children were seen in the clip, which shows embers flying amid swirling smoke and is captioned “people running for their lives and jumping in ocean!”
It was viewed more than 2 million times in 10 hours.
As many as 1000 people are said to be missing, while media have reported that only the bodies seen outside buildings have so far been counted.
Cadaver dogs have been flown in to help search for the missing people, who authorities have not been able to contact.
The New York Post reported Maui’s mayor Richard Bissen said his island had “seen devastation, destruction, immeasurable loss”.
“I think [the number of the dead] could go up,” he said.
The ferocious flames have left almost 11,000 people without power, water and communication services.
Wildfires on Maui’s west coast – fuelled by high winds from a hurricane passing to the south – broke out Tuesday and rapidly engulfed Lahaina.
President Joe Biden issued a national disaster declaration and unblocked federal aid for relief efforts, as residents said they needed more help and feared it would take years for the town to recover.
Media reported helicopters attempting to rescue people faced extremely low visibility due to the smoke — but a Coast Guard vessel was able to airlift more than 50 people from the water.
— with the New York Post and Jack Evans
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