Maui Emergency Management Agency Administrator Herman Andaya has quit after criticism that he failed to activate the island's emergency siren system
The number of people killed is expected to rise as searchers – many grieving their own fire losses – keep digging through the charred remains of more than 2000 burned homes and businesses. "Probably still over 1000" residents remain unaccounted for, Hawaii Governor Josh Green told CNN on Wednesday.
Before Andaya's resignation was announced, state Senator Angus McKelvey – who represents Lahaina and lost his own home in the fires – blasted Andaya's response as "insulting". The most destructive blaze on Maui, the 884-hectare Lahaina fire, was 90 per cent contained as of Thursday night, Maui County posted on Facebook.
"We want to be able to treat them in a dignified manner and give some closure to the families," Logan told reporters on a call on Friday afternoon.A general view shows damage in the fire ravaged town of Lahaina on the island of Maui in Hawaii, August 15, 2023. REUTERS/Mike Blake At least 40 canines from 15 states have joined in the search, said Jeff Hickman of the Hawaii Department of Defense.
And a company that runs a sensor network on Maui detected major utility grid faults hours before the fires started, it said. A sensor network run by Whisker Labs detected an "increasingly stressed utility grid" on Maui beginning late August 7 and into the next morning, the company's CEO Bob Marshall told CNN on Wednesday.
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