Death toll from Maui’s wildfires rises to 111 – with possibly 1,000 still missing – as tensions escalate over the cause and response

  

The search for victims isn’t even halfway over, but the devastation wrought by Maui’s wildfires already defies imagination as scrutiny mounts over the cause – and the officials’ response.

At least 111 people – including children – were killed in last week’s catastrophe. And the tragedy is expected to intensify, with most of the burn zone still left to search, Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said Wednesday.

“No one has ever seen this that is alive today – not this size, not this number, not this volume,” Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said Wednesday. “And we’re not done.”

The number of residents still unaccounted for is “probably still over 1,000,” Hawaii Gov. Josh Green told CNN on Wednesday.

Crews are expected to keep scouring the charred debris of more than 2,000 burnt homes and businesses for days. The task for some is deeply personal, the police chief said.

“Realize that the responders that are going out there are recovering their loved ones and members of their families,” he said.

Meanwhile, though the cause of the fires hasn’t been determined, Hawaiian Electric – the major power company on Maui – is facing scrutiny for not shutting down power lines when high winds created dangerous fire conditions. A company that runs a sensor network on Maui says it detected major utility grid faults hours before fires started...more