Number of missing Maui wildfire victims rises to 1,100 with 115 dead weeks after flames first devastated Hawaii
UP to 1,100 people are still missing in Lahaina two weeks after flames devastated the town in Hawaii, authorities have said.
The number is down from 2,500 who were previously unaccounted for after fires tore through Maui and turned neighborhoods to ash.
“We’re making tremendous progress,” Honolulu FBI Special Agent in Charge Steven Merrill said on Tuesday night, per .
The FBI is preparing to release a list of names of the missing now that they have a more accurate count of who has yet to be accounted for.
Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen had previously estimated that there were about 850 people still missing.
A total of 115 people have been confirmed dead, a number that makes the natural disaster the worst wildfire in the US in over a century.
Few of the victims have been publicly identified, leaving families desperate for answers.
Over the past week, authorities have been asking relatives of the missing to submit DNA samples in an effort to speed up the identification process.
The family assistance center has only collected samples from 104 families, according to the .
Maui Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Martin said that the number of DNA samples has been lower than in previous disasters.
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“That’s our concern, that’s why I’m here today, that’s why I’m asking for this help,” he said.
He said that samples would be used to identify victims only.
“What we want to do — all we want to do — is help people locate and identify their unaccounted-for loved ones,” he said.
Family members of the people who are missing have been looking for answers for two weeks.
Clifford Abihai arrived in Maui from California, looking for his grandmother, Louise Abihai, 98.
She lived in a senior living facility at Hale Mahaolu Eono.
“I just want confirmation,” he said.
“Not knowing what happened, not knowing if she escaped, not knowing if she’s not there.
"That’s the hard thing.”
Abihai provided a DNA sample and, as of Tuesday, had not received a conclusive answer from authorities.
President Biden visited Lahaina earlier this week after criticism of the government's slow response.
“The devastation is overwhelming," he said.
“We’re going to rebuild the way people of Maui want to build,” he said.
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“We will be respectful of the sacred grounds and the traditions."
The cause of the fires has yet to be determined with some experts believing that power lines and high winds could have been the culprit, reported.
