More than 850 people remain missing in Maui after wildfires tore through the island and burned the Hawaiian resort town of Lahaina to the ground, Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen said in a briefing Monday.
The wildfire killed at least 114 people when it ripped through the town two weeks ago, he reported, adding that 2,000 initially were missing. After searches by the FBI and local law enforcement, 1,285 people have been found safe.
The American Red Cross, Federal Emergency Management Agency, FBI Honolulu, and Maui Police Department have been collecting names of those still missing, Bissen said. The lists were “combined and refined” by the FBI.
“Through the tireless work of the FBI and the Maui Police Department, over 1,285 individuals have been located safe,” the mayor said. “We are both saddened and relieved about these numbers as we continue the recovery process.”
Bissen encouraged family members with missing relatives to provide DNA samples to assist in identifying them.
Immediate biological family members’ DNA will be most helpful, Julie French of ANDA, a rapid DNA tech company, said in a Facebook video.
“It’s really important to have more than one family member come forward,” French said. “The more family members that we can get, the better comparisons we can do and the faster we can do them.”
The mayor said the ordeal changed Maui forever, “and things will not be the same.”
“What will be the same is the way we care for each other as we grieve and go through this together,” Bissen said.
President Joe Biden was scheduled to visit Maui with first lady Jill Biden on Monday.
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin warned the president not to expect a warm welcome. He has been criticized for not coming sooner.
“My heart, my prayers, and my focus are on the victims of the Maui wildfires and their families,” Mr. Biden said in a written statement released by the White House on Sunday. “I know how profoundly loss can impact a family and a community, and I know nothing can replace the loss of life. I will do everything in my power to help Maui recover and rebuild from this tragedy.”
Biden, who has been vacationing, said the federal government would respect sacred lands, cultures, and traditions in its recovery efforts.
“Jill and I are eager to meet with the brave first responders in Lahaina tomorrow, to spend time with families and community members, and witness firsthand what will be required for the community to recover,” he said. “We will be here as long as it takes for Maui.”