Maui fires death toll rises to 67, and survivors say they didn't get any warnings as the flames closed in
Baku, August 12, AZERTAC
Some Maui residents who escaped the deadly fires that tore through the Hawaiian island said they received no official warnings about the blazes that claimed dozens of lives and destroyed hundreds of buildings, according to CBS News.
"We kind of just figured it out on our own," Tiare Abraham told CBS News. "… I realized when it was time to go when the smoke was so dark, we could not see anything outside."
At least 67 people were killed, Maui County Officials said Friday, and many are still missing. Gov. Josh Green warned that the death toll would likely rise as search and rescue operations continue.
Some residents were being allowed to return to the devastated historic town of Lahaina to check on their property starting Friday afternoon, and a daily curfew will be in effect between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. in the disaster area, officials said.
Maui County officials said in an update late Friday afternoon that barricades patrolled by officers were in place in certain parts of Lahaina town because "burning areas are highly toxic." The public was advised to beware of hot spots and wear a mask and gloves.
Evacuations and an assessment of the destruction on Maui are ongoing with more than 1,000 homes and other structures known to be damaged or destroyed, including historic buildings and businesses. Additional crews are arriving on the island to help. A Federal Emergency Management Agency search and rescue team arrived Thursday night with two cadaver dogs, officials said Friday.
Liza Tobias returned to her home in Lahaina on foot Thursday to find it in ruins and her father Carlo Tobias missing after he refused to leave Tuesday night.
"I wanted to force him to come with me, but he was very hardheaded and he didn't want to come," she told CBS affiliate KGMB-TV.
Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens were triggered when the wildfires erupted Tuesday, officials confirmed Thursday. Instead, officials sent alerts to mobile phones, televisions and radio stations — but widespread power and cellular outages may have limited their reach.
Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez announced Friday that her agency would conduct a "comprehensive review of critical decision-making and standing policies leading up to, during, and after the wildfires."
Lahaina business owner J.D. Hessemer said he decided to evacuate early in the morning before the fires reached the town, without ever hearing an emergency alert.
"The winds were just getting out of control. Power lines were down everywhere and we had to reroute," Hessemer told "CBS Mornings" on Friday. "...We just decided it was not safe to stay around for the day."
He said he received no official warning or instructions to evacuate.
"I received nothing at no point in time. I got nothing on my phone," he said.
About 15,000 visitors were on flights departing the island Thursday, officials said. On the island of Oahu, the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu was turned into an assistance center, stocking it with water, food, and volunteers who help visitors arrange travel home.
The Lahaina blaze is already the state's deadliest natural disaster since a 1960 tsunami that killed 61 people on the Big Island and the deadliest U.S. wildfire since the 2018 Camp Fire in California, which killed at least 85 people and laid waste to the town of Paradise.
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