Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said Friday that what’s rebuilt from the ashes of the devastating wildfires on Maui might be determined by the people.
“Lahaina will rise again,” Green said during a livestreamed evening address from Honolulu. The seaside town might be rebuilt as a living memorial to those lost — a number that increased by three on Friday to 114 — while preserving and protecting Native Hawaiian culture, he said.
His wife, Jaime Kanani Green, stood next to him and cried as she described Lahaina as a vibrant community wealthy in history and culture.
“Tragically it took lower than a single day for us to lose Lahaina within the deadliest fire our country has seen in greater than a century,” she said.
Native Hawaiians and others from Lahaina said earlier Friday they worry Hawaii’s governor is moving too quickly to rebuild what was lost while the grief continues to be raw.
“The fire occurred only 10 days ago, and plenty of individuals are still in shock and mourning,” Tiare Lawrence, who grew up in Lahaina, said at an emotional news conference organized by community activists.
They called on Green to present residents time to grieve, provide community leaders with recovery decision-making roles and comply with open-records laws amid distrust in the federal government response to the disaster.
In Green’s address, he attempted to allay their concerns, while noting that rebuilding will take years of labor and billions of dollars.
“Let me be clear,” he said. “Lahaina belongs to its people and we’re committed to rebuilding and restoring it the best way they need.”
Earlier this week, Green said he would announce details of a moratorium on land transactions in Lahaina to forestall people from falling victim to land grabs. But his Friday address didn’t provide details, apart from saying he directed the state attorney general to “impose enhanced criminal penalties on anyone who tries to make the most of victims by acquiring property within the affected areas.”
Since the flames consumed much of Lahaina, locals have feared a rebuilt town could develop into much more oriented toward wealthy visitors.
“The governor shouldn’t rush to rebuild the community without first giving people time to heal, especially without including the community itself within the planning,” Lawrence said. “Fast-track development cannot come at the price of community control.”
The coalition of activists, under the umbrella of a bunch calling itself “Na Ohana o Lele: Lahaina,” were especially concerned in regards to the impact of development on the environment and noted how mismanagement of resources — particularly land and water — contributed to the short spread of the fireplace.
There was no word Friday on who would replace the Maui Emergency Management Agency administrator who abruptly resigned after defending a choice to not sound outdoor sirens in the course of the fire.
Herman Andaya had said this week that he had no regrets about not deploying the system because he feared it could have caused people to go “mauka,” a Hawaiian term that may mean toward the mountains or inland.
“If that was the case, then they might have gone into the fireplace,” Andaya explained. He stepped down Thursday, a day later.
Andaya’s resignation letter was temporary and had no mention of the health reasons that county officials cited for his resignation.
“I appreciated the chance to go this agency for the last 6 years,” he wrote. “I even have enjoyed working for the agency and am grateful for the support provided me during my tenure as administrator.”
The county released Andaya’s resignation letter Friday after The Associated Press requested a replica.
The decision to not use the sirens, coupled with water shortages that hampered firefighters and an escape route clogged with vehicles that were overrun by flames, has brought intense criticism.
While crews sifted through ashes and rubble in Lahaina, scenes of normalcy continued in other parts of Maui, even when the tragedy hung heavy over the island.
Off the coast of Kihei on Friday morning, a vacation marking Hawaii’s statehood, paddlers in outrigger canoes glided through Maalaea Bay about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Lahaina. Fishermen solid their lines from knee-deep water. And beachgoers strolled along the sand.
Green reiterated a plea for visitors to not go to West Maui. “However, all other areas of Maui and the remainder of Hawaii are secure and open to visitors and proceed to welcome and encourage travel to our beautiful state, which can support the local economy and speed the recovery of those that have already suffered a lot,” he said.
More than 60% of the disaster area had been searched, Green said Friday, adding that he expects the variety of dead to extend every day of the search.
Six forensic anthropologists with the Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency are assisting in gathering and identifying human stays, the Pentagon said in an announcement Friday. The group is experienced in verifying DNA from long-lost service members, a lot of whom died as way back as World War II.
The lack of sirens has emerged as a possible misstep, a part of a series of communication issues that added to the chaos, in accordance with reporting by The Associated Press.
Hawaii has what it touts as the most important system of out of doors alert sirens on the planet, created after a 1946 tsunami that killed greater than 150 on the Big Island. Its website says they could be used to alert for fires.
Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez said earlier Thursday that an out of doors organization will conduct “an impartial, independent” review of the federal government’s response.
The explanation for the wildfires is under investigation. But Hawaii is increasingly in danger from disasters, with wildfire rising fastest, in accordance with an AP evaluation of FEMA records.
“We will resolve exactly how the fireplace began, how our emergency procedures and protocols have to be strengthened, how we are able to improve our defenses to guard us in the long run,” Green said.
Corrine Hussey Nobriga said it was hard to put blame for a tragedy that took everyone by surprise, even when a few of her neighbors raised questions on the absence of sirens and inadequate evacuation routes.
The fire hurried through her neighborhood, though her home was spared.
“One minute we saw the fireplace over there,” she said, pointing toward faraway hills, “and the subsequent minute it’s consuming all these houses.”
Authorities hope to empty crowded, uncomfortable group shelters by early next week, said Brad Kieserman, vp for disaster operations with the American Red Cross. Hotels also can be found for eligible evacuees who’ve been sleeping in cars or camping in parking lots, he said.
Contracts with the hotels will last for not less than seven months but could easily be prolonged, he said. Service providers on the properties will offer meals, counseling, financial assistance and other disaster aid.
The governor has said not less than 1,000 hotel rooms might be put aside. In addition, Airbnb said its nonprofit wing will provide properties for 1,000 people.
Ernesto and Adoracion Garcia, who moved from the Philippines a decade ago, joined a dozen other relatives in two time-share apartments on the Hyatt Regency in Kaanapali after being left homeless by the fireplace.
They were thankful that they might now not be staying at shelters, after fleeing the flames.
Green, who was an emergency room doctor before becoming governor, described meeting survivors. He said one woman was seven months pregnant and told him she’s undecided how she’ll make it to her next medical appointment.
“Tears in her eyes,” Green recalled, “she told me she intends to call her baby Faith.”
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Kelleher reported from Honolulu and Weber from Los Angeles. Contributing to this report were Associated Press journalists Michael Casey in Concord, New Hampshire; Jennifer McDermott in Providence, Rhode Island; Seth Borenstein in Washington, D.C.; and Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Missouri.
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