Wildfires in Hawaii have caused major upsets in the Islands for natives and tourists. Nearly 115 people have been confirmed dead, but 338 people have been unaccounted for. The town of Lahaina with two million tourists a year is now up in flames.
The first wildfire in August, started in Maui and was caused by a power line that fell by high winds with a combination of dry vegetation. But some faults have been towards the county firefighters as they left the scene early. CNN just released that the Hawaiian Electric Company is getting sued with accusations of neglecting their utility issues, causing the start of the fires.
Sources have stated that there are sirens that are told to go off if a catastrophe is happening. According to the New York Times, they were never fully activated. The administrator of the Maui Emergency Management Agency said to not activate them, in fear of citizens running dangerously into the flames. They stated, “It was the best response we could have done.” Soon after we find out that the Administrator resigned coincidentally right after the questions began to arise.
The residents of Maui weren’t notified soon enough, and local residents started evacuating on August 8th. Their only option to seek safety was to jump in the oceans to get away from the fires since they were denied being able to evacuate. The natives now fear that they are being shut out for the rebuilding process. According to Minority Rights, the Hawaiian people are in the highest poverty rate, homelessness, disease, low income, and education.
The U.S. Coast Guard is now trying different evacuating efforts to help houses and take care of the Hawaiian people. CNN said that the Biden Administration is giving 95 million dollars to help with the aftermath of the fires. Most Native people are staying in shelters and anywhere that hasn’t burned to ashes.
This has been one of the most deadly fires in the United States for centuries. Too many people have lost their lives already and some people are still missing. The fires are still burning, pushing Maui back in recovery time.