Hawaii officials identify the last of the 100 known victims of the wildfire that destroyed Lahaina
Identifying those who perished in the deadliest wildfire in the U.S. in more than a century has been a long, arduous process.
By The Associated Press •
AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File
FILE – Photos of victims are displayed under white crosses at a memorial for victims of the August 2023 wildfire, above the Lahaina Bypass highway, Dec. 6, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii.
Maui police said they identified the victim as Lydia Coloma. Her husband, along with a sister, brother-in-law and a niece and nephew, also died in the fire, said her sister-in-law, Tina Acosta, in Honolulu. Coloma was from the Ilocos Sur province in the Philippines, Acosta said, adding that she didn't know why the final identification took so long.
“We were waiting,” she said.
Identifying those who perished in the deadliest wildfire in the U.S. in more than a century has been a long, arduous process. Forensic experts and cadaver dogs have had to sift through ash searching for bodies that were possibly cremated, and authorities have been collecting DNA samples from victims’ family members.
The DNA testing allowed officials in September to revise the death toll downward, from 115 to at least 97. The toll rose slightly over the next month as some victims succumbed to their injuries or as police found additional remains.
The number of those who remain unaccounted for has also fallen — to just a few from a previous high of nearly 400, according to the Maui Police Department.
Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
The iconic Banyan tree stands among the rubble of burned buildings on Aug. 11, 2023, days after a catastrophic wildfire swept through the city.
Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
The iconic Banyan tree stands among the rubble of burned buildings on Aug. 11, 2023, days after a catastrophic wildfire swept through the city.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
Davilynn Severson holds a page of a yearbook as she looks for belongings through the ashes of their family’s home in the aftermath of a wildfire in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, Aug. 11, 2023.
ustin Sullivan/Getty Images
Volunteers load water onto a boat to be transported to West Maui from the Kihei boat landing on Aug. 13, 2023, in Kihei, Hawaii. At least 93 people were confirmed dead over the weekend, and thousands were displaced after a wind driven wildfire devastated the towns of Lahaina and Kula this past week. Crews are continuing to search for nearly 1,000 missing people.
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Fire damage is seen on Aug. 12, 2023, in Lahaina, HI. The death toll is expected to rise after devastating wildfires swept Maui early in the month.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Cars are backed up for miles on the Honoapiilani highway as residents are allowed back into areas affected by the recent wildfire, Aug. 11, 2023, in Wailuku, Hawaii. Dozens of people were killed and thousands were displaced after a wind-driven wildfire devastated the town of Lahaina on Tuesday. Crews are continuing to search for missing people.
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Burned houses and buildings are pictured in the aftermath of a wildfire, is seen in Lahaina, western Maui, Hawaii, Aug. 12, 2023.
Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images
An aerial image taken on Aug. 10, 2023, shows destroyed homes and buildings burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii.
Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images
An aerial view of Lahaina after wildfires burned through the town on the Hawaiian island of Maui, Aug. 10, 2023. Dozens of people have died after a fast-moving wildfire turned Lahaina to ashes.
Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images
Homes and buildings were burned to the ground around the harbor and Front Street in the historic Lahaina Town in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui in Lahaina, Hawaii, Aug. 10, 2023.
Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images
A charred boat sits in Lahaina Harbor in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii.
Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images
An aerial image taken on Aug. 10, 2023, shows destroyed homes and buildings burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii.
Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images
An aerial view of Lahaina after wildfires burned through the town on the Hawaiian island of Maui, Aug. 10, 2023. Dozens of people have died after a fast-moving wildfire turned Lahaina to ashes.
Clint Hansen / Maui Real Estate Radio
Wildfires blaze through North Kihei overnight on Hawaii’s Maui island, Aug. 10, 2023. Residents were cleared to return to Kihei by Thursday afternoon, according to the town’s updates.
Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images
Passengers try to rest and sleep after canceled and delayed flights while others wait to board flights off the island as thousands of passengers were stranded at the Kahului Airport in the aftermath of wildfires in Maui in Kahului, Hawaii, Aug. 9, 2023.
Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images
Passengers try to rest and sleep after canceled and delayed flights while others wait to board flights off the island as thousands of passengers were stranded at the Kahului Airport in the aftermath of wildfires in Maui in Kahului, Hawaii, Aug. 9, 2023.
Courtesy Chris Sendrey
Smoke billows over Kula in Hawaii’s Maui island, Aug. 3, 2023.
Courtesy Chris Sendrey
Smoke billows over Kula in Hawaii’s Maui island, Aug. 3, 2023.
Courtesy Chris Sendrey
Smoke billows over Kula in Hawaii’s Maui island, Aug. 3, 2023.
Master Sgt. Andrew Jackson / Department of Defense
Hawaii Army National Guard helicopters fight wildfires with bucket drops, Aug. 9, 2023, in Maui, Hawaii. The National Guard said they dropped more than 100,000 gallons of water on the fires.
Master Sgt. Andrew Jackson / Department of Defense
Hawaii Army National Guard helicopters fight wildfires with bucket drops, Aug. 9, 2023, in Maui, Hawaii. The National Guard said they dropped more than 100,000 gallons of water on the fires.
Master Sgt. Andrew Jackson / Department of Defense
Hawaii Army National Guard helicopters fight wildfires with bucket drops, Aug. 9, 2023, in Maui, Hawaii. The National Guard said they dropped more than 100,000 gallons of water on the fires.
County of Maui
Smoke billows over Lahaina in this undated photo released by the County of Maui on Aug. 10, 2023. The historic town of Lahaina was reduced to ashes by Thursday, aerial photos show.
The victims ranged in age from 7 to 97, but more than two-thirds were in their 60s or older, according to Maui police’s list of known victims. Several were residents of a low-income senior apartment complex.
Authorities reopened the burn zone to residents and property owners who lost homes while urging returning residents not to sift through the ashes for fear of raising toxic dust.
Authorities began clearing debris from residential lots this month. The waste is being wrapped in thick industrial plastic before the Army Corps of Engineers takes it to a temporary debris storage site south of Lahaina.
The disaster devastated Maui and Hawaii more broadly. Caught in a hellscape, some residents died in their cars, while others jumped into the ocean or tried to run for safety.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. It may have been sparked by downed power lines that ignited dry, invasive grasses. An AP investigation found the answer may lie in an overgrown gully beneath Hawaiian Electric Co. power lines and something that harbored smoldering embers from an initial fire that burned in the morning and then rekindled in high winds that afternoon.
The blaze destroyed more than 2,000 buildings, most of them homes, and is estimated to have caused $5.5 billion in damage.
Nearly six months after the blaze, about 5,000 displaced residents were still living in hotels or other short-term accommodations around Maui. Economists have warned that without zoning and other changes housing costs in already expensive Lahaina could be prohibitively costly for many after rebuilding.
