Victims Fleeing Wildfire Got Only Blocks Away

Investigators trace routes from Hawaii blaze that killed at least 102 people
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 14, 2024 2:00 PM CDT
Investigators Trace Efforts to Escape Hawaii Wildfire
Hawaii Deputy Attorney General Ciara Kahahane discusses a wildfire investigation during a news conference in Honolulu on Friday.   (AP Photo/Jennifer Sinco Kelleher)

The wind pushed flames from house to house as a group of neighbors tried to escape their blazing subdivision, abandoning their cars in a blocked road, and running to an industrial outbuilding for safety. All six perished just blocks from their homes. The group, including an 11-year-old and his parents, was among the victims whose desperate attempts to escape the Lahaina wildfire were detailed for the first time in a report released Friday. The investigation by the Fire Safety Research Institute for the Hawaii attorney general's office delved into the conditions that fed the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century and the attempts to stop its spread and evacuate the town's residents, the AP reports.

At least 102 people died in the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfire that was fueled by bone-dry conditions and strong winds from a hurricane passing to Maui's south. Joseph Lara, 86, was found outside his purple 2003 Ford Ranger pickup truck at the parking structure of an outlet mall and "could have been trying to go north on Front Street before he was stuck in traffic," according to the report. His daughter told the AP on Friday that she tries not to think about how he might still be alive if he had taken a different turn to escape. "He was alone. He didn't have anyone to tell him he should go here, here, here," Misty Lara said. "I can't fathom what his final thoughts were."

The report is a reminder of the trauma experienced by the roughly 17,000 people who survived by driving through fire and blinding smoke, outrunning the flames on foot or bike, or huddling in the ocean behind a seawall for hours as propane tanks and car batteries exploded around them. More than 60% of the victims tried to flee, with many discovered inside or outside their cars or huddled against the seawall. Nearly 80% of the fatalities were in central Lahaina, where the fire flared and spread quickly in the afternoon, allowing little time to evacuate. Many were stuck in traffic jams created by downed power poles, accidents, traffic signals that weren't working, and poor visibility. Some back roads that could have provided an alternative escape were blocked by locked gates. For those who were evacuating, the distance between their home and the locations where they were recovered was on average 800 feet, according to the report. (Investigators found no evidence that officials heeded warnings and prepared for the fire.)

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