Hawaii Authorities Announce Identity of Final Known Wildfire Victim

Officials in Hawaii have identified the final victim of the 2023 Maui wildfires.

On Friday, the Maui Police Department announced the death of 70-year-old Lydia Coloma of Lahaina Township, Maui. The department added that Coloma’s family has been notified of her death.

“We will continue to work closely with families to ensure they are updated and supported throughout this process,” the ministry said in a statement on its website. “We thank the community for their support and understanding during this challenging time.”

MPD noted that Coloma is the 100th fatality identified in the fire and that they have no more individuals to identify.

Everything you need to know about the 2023 Hawaii wildfires, including ways to help victims

Destroyed buildings and homes are shown after a wildfire in Lahaina, West Maui, Hawaii, on August 11, 2023.

SEBASTIEN VUAGNAT/AFP via Getty Images

On August 8, 2023, several large wildfires were reported on the west side of the island of Maui that ravaged the towns of Lahaina and Kula, burning dozens of buildings and trapping many people.

A week after the fire, Maui County officials estimated there were at least 106 deaths. Hundreds of Lahaina residents are also still missing, prompting Maui County officials to release a list of 388 names of people who lived or worked in the city who had not been identified in late August.

More than 100 have been confirmed safe following the release of a list of those missing from the Maui wildfires

FBI Honolulu Division Special Agent Steven Merrill confirmed at a news conference on August 25 that they were able to remove more than a hundred names from the list after people or their relatives came forward to say they were safe.

“We are very grateful to the people who contacted us by phone or email,” Merrill said at the time. “They were … reported alive and well. Again, we’re not taking that for granted. We still understand there are hundreds more that we’re still looking for and we’re not going to stop until we find these people.”

More than 270 structures were also affected in the town of Lahaina, according to an Aug. 9 news release from the US Civil Air Patrol and Maui Fire Department. Damage was extensive throughout the town of West Maui, the harbor and surrounding areas, displacing hundreds of families.

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Maui County officials filed the lawsuit against Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., which provides electric service to “95 percent of Hawaii’s 1.4 million residents,” along with Maui Electric Company, Limited, Hawaii Electric Light Company, Inc., and Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc.

Documents obtained by PEOPLE in the county complaint allege that the defendants “unforgivably kept their power lines live during anticipated high fire danger conditions,” and that their inaction to take precautions caused “loss of life, severe injuries, total destruction of homes and businesses , displacing thousands of people and damaging many historic and cultural sites in Hawaii.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education