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Though the wildfires have mostly been contained, Hawaii residents are still reeling from the aftermath as families assess the devastating damage to their homes and identifications are released of some of the 106 people killed.
People have begun to share stories of those killed, including a 68-year-old man who died trying to protect his dog and a family of four who burned to death in their car near their home. Identifications are likely to be released slowly over the coming days as officials recover remains and notify families.
Those who survived are scattered across at least 11 shelters that are serving more than 4,000 people, according to the Red Cross of Hawaii. Maui residents have also told NBC News they are frustrated as they move out of shelters and into hotels, which will be available for only 30 days. Families are seeking more permanent housing options after having lost their entire lives over just a few days.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it is on the ground in Maui working on getting temporary rental assistance, as well as providing money and aiding search efforts. President Joe Biden promised “every asset” available from the federal government to help the state recover Tuesday.
“It’s almost hollow ... ‘our thoughts and prayers with the people’ ... not just our prayers, every asset, every asset they need will be there for them,” Biden said at an event in Wisconsin. “And we will be there as long as it takes, as long as it takes.”
What to know about the deadly wildfires
- 106 people have been confirmed dead, while many others remain missing. Officials are expected to start identifying the dead today.
- Cadaver dogs are helping search Maui's charred ruins for the missing.
- The fires could pose long-term health risks to residents due to chemical compounds contaminating the air, water and wreckage, authorities have warned.
- The economic cost to Maui could come to $7 billion, Moody’s Analytics said Monday.
- Timeline: How ferocious wildfires devastated Maui, hour by hour
- NBC News teams are on the ground and reporting from Maui.
106 remains recovered, county says
Maui County released the names tonight of two of the 106 victims of the wildfires.
The two victims were identified as Robert Dyckman, 74, and Buddy Jantoc, 79, both of Lahaina.
Three more victims have been identified but their names are being withheld pending next of kin notification, the county said in a statement.
The majority of the 106 fatalities have not been identified.
“We offer our deepest condolences to the families who are beginning to receive notifications about their loved ones,” Mayor Richard Bissen said in the statement. “As a community, we offer our prayers of comfort in this most difficult time.”
Survivors of Maui fires set up their own aid network as trust in government falters
WAILEA, Hawaii — One week after wildfires roared across Maui and devoured their property, residents who have called Maui home for generations were watching over the ashes.
Distrustful of the government’s response to a tragedy that has already displaced hundreds of families and fearful of outsiders’ swooping in to take their ancestral homes, they were organizing their own relief efforts to get food and supplies to people who are unwilling or unable to venture far from their destroyed properties.
“We are taking charge,” Maui County Council Vice Chair Keani Rawlins-Fernandez said Tuesday.
For Lahaina couple expecting a child, there was no more time to hope
KIHEI, Hawaii — After the power went out in Lahaina and after smoke was seen from a wildfire that would later sweep into the town, Tasha Anderson “was in denial.”
They had seen other storms and other fires, and they were always able to return later.
“I just didn’t want to leave, like, where we had built the nursery, where we were going to bring our baby home to,” Anderson, who is pregnant with the couple’s first child, said today.
Her fiancé, Kevin Campbell, got on a scooter to check the condition of the fire. He said what he saw was not like past experiences.
“The flames, the wind had just taken this fire and made it so much more than a normal fire,” he said. “It was jumping from building to building. It was crossing the street. It was catching a tree and then catching a house.”
When Anderson heard the panic in Campbell’s voice, they got in a car and left, grabbing almost nothing.
Homeless shelter among the buildings destroyed in Lahaina
A 78-unit Ka Hale A Ke Ola Homeless Resource Centers shelter was among the buildings destroyed in the wildfire that burned into Lahaina, the organization said.
KHAKO Executive Director Monique R. Ibarra said she saw the destruction firsthand with a police escort.
“All the buildings are gone. Wildfire reduced them to ashes and debris,” she said in a statement on the group’s website.
“This morning, I informed the residents who escaped Tuesday afternoon with little more than the clothes they were wearing. It was heartbreaking,” she wrote.
Some of the units were for emergency shelter for families and people making the transition from homelessness to permanent housing, the organization said.
Many on Maui will need shelter in the wake of the destruction in Lahaina, Gov. Josh Green has said. He said over 500 hotel rooms have been identified and are available.
"Hundreds of families and thousands of individuals" have lost either the residences they own or where they have been renting, Green said today.
Road by Lahaina in West Maui to be reopened, governor says
A major road by the fire-ravaged Lahaina area in West Maui will be reopened tonight for some groups and tomorrow during the day for everyone, the governor said.
“No one will be able to go into the impact zone where the tragedy has occurred,” Gov. Josh Green said, but he said the decision will allow freer movement in West Maui.
The Lahaina Bypass will be opened starting at 6 o’clock tonight until 6 a.m. for residents, first responders and employees of the region, he said.
Starting tomorrow from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., it will be opened to everyone, and that will be a regular schedule, he said.
10 p.m. to 6 a.m. will be for necessary travel for residents and first responders, he said.
“Were trying to get back to normal so that people’s lives can begin to, in some ways, be reconnected to the other side of the island,” Green said.
Confirmed deaths in Maui wildfires rise to 101
The number of confirmed deaths in the wildfires in Maui that devastated the town of Lahaina has risen to 101, Gov. Josh Green said today.
The previous number was 99. Surveys and searches of burned areas are continuing.
Green said more than 1,000 first responders from around the world are assisting after the tragedy. The fire that broke out in Lahaina was one of several in Maui on Aug. 8.
"We are heartsick that we’ve had such loss," Green said.
Timeline: How ferocious wildfires devastated Maui, hour by hour
Monstrous, windswept wildfires ripped through the Hawaiian island of Maui last week, charring communities and killing at least 100 people.
NBC News reconstructed a timeline of events based on public advisories, state government warnings, eyewitness accounts and videos posted on social media.
