Maui authorities said that more than a week and a half after deadly flames blasted across the island, more than a thousand people are still missing. Emergency officials have issued a plea for DNA samples from families in an attempt to positively identify the bodies of those found in the wreckage.
Lack of Available DNA Samples
(At center L-R) US President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, Hawaii Governor Josh Green, and wife Jaime Green walk along Front Street to inspect wildfire damage in Lahaina, Hawaii on August 21, 2023.
Only 104 families have supplied DNA samples as of Wednesday morning, August 23. Unfortunately, this clearly slows down and restricts the procedure.
Maui County's top prosecutor, Andrew Martin, claimed that fewer relatives than usual were coming forward to submit DNA samples.
According to CBS News, Jayson Musgrove from Texas contributed his DNA after going to Maui to look for his missing mother, Linda Vaikeli. "It's hard to get answers because nobody really knows what's happening. Until someone tells me exactly where she's at, I'm not gonna stop looking for her," he stated.
The presence of several lists compiled by a variety of entities has made the process of identifying human remains more difficult. Cellphone tracking technology is being used in conjunction with DNA analysis to assist police in finding missing persons.
Failure in Communication
The number of verified fatalities has not changed, and locals are continuing to press for answers about the failure in communication that occurred during the flames.
On August 8, while residents of Maui County attempted to flee the worst of the fires, Mayor Richard Bissen of Maui County was shown on a local television station claiming that the route leading to and from Lahaina was open. He seemed to be uninformed of the gravity of the situation.
When CBS News questioned Bissen about whether or not he had been receiving real-time updates, Bissen responded by saying, "We had a lot of information coming in and we had lots of communication that was broken down. I don't have all the times for me, and I know I'm going to have to go and piece that together."
Bissen said that he could only speculate as to whether or not the delay in communicating had a role in the severity of the loss. He said, "I can't tell you what would have would not have changed with that information in terms of the fire," and deferred further study to the judgment of fire specialists.
See Also: Congress is Under Pressure To Approve Disaster Relief Funding as Maui Wildfires Continue To Burn
Denied Water Request
Meanwhile, Hawaiian business last week suggested that water shortages contributed to the extent of the flames in Maui. It was reported that the original request for water to put out the fire was refused by a government body.
Apparently, the Commission On Water Resource Management first denied the West Maui Land Company's request for water for many hours. When the demand was granted, the corporation said it was already too late.
"We followed the process. The process failed us," Glenn Tremble said, an executive at West Maui Land Company.
See Also: Delayed Water in Maui Contributes to Wildfire's Severity; Hawaiian Company Shares Details
