(The Center Square) – The Maui County Police Department said 388 Maui residents are unaccounted for more than two weeks after a fire that destroyed Lahaina.
“We’re releasing this list of names today because we know that it will help with the investigation,” said Police Chief John Pelletier late Thursday. “We also know that once those names come out, it can and will cause pain for folks whose loved ones are listed. This is not an easy thing to do, but we want to make sure that we are doing everything we can to make this investigation as complete and thorough as possible.”
The names were compiled by the FBI, according to a news release. More than 1,700 people reported missing were found safe.
Officials have found 115 bodies, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said in a social media post.
“They are going through the complex buildings now and, in the last day or two they have not found mass fatalities,” the governor said.
More than 95% of the affected areas have been searched, Green said. Just under 3,000 displaced residents are in hotels, and 790 are in vacation homes.
Maui County filed a lawsuit Thursday against the Hawaiian Electric Company, alleging the utility did not shut off power on August 7 despite a red flag warning.
“The lawsuit further alleges HECO’s energized and downed power lines ignited dry fuel such as grass and brush, causing the fires,” the county said in a news release on the website. “The lawsuit also alleges failure to maintain the system and power grid, which caused the systemic failures starting three different fires on August 8.”
The latest damage estimate is at $5.5 billion, with 3,000 burned acres in Lahaina and Kula and 2,200 buildings damaged, according to Maui County.
