Hawaii officials said Friday that they have identified the last of the 100 victims of the wildfires that devastated Lahaina in August.
The victim was Lydia Coloma, 70, Maui police said.
Identifying those killed in the deadliest US wildfires in more than a century has been a long and difficult process.
Forensic experts and cadaver dogs sifted through the ashes to find possible cremated remains, and authorities collected DNA samples from family members of the victims.
DNA testing allowed officials in September to revise the death toll, from 115 to at least 97.
The death toll rose slightly in the following months as some victims died of their injuries or as police found additional bodies.
The number of those still unaccounted for has also dropped — to just a few from the previous high of nearly 400, according to the Maui Police Department.
The victims ranged in age from 7 to 97, but more than two-thirds were in their 60s or older, according to a list of victims known to Maui police. Some are residents of low-income senior apartment complexes.
Authorities reopened the burn zone to displaced residents and property owners while urging returning residents not to sift through the ash for fear of creating toxic dust.
Authorities began clearing debris from residential lots this month.
Hawaii officials said Friday that they have identified the last of the 100 victims of the wildfires that ravaged Lahaina in August with the last victim being Lydia Coloma, 70, Maui police said. AP
The debris is being wrapped in thick industrial plastic before the Army Corps of Engineers takes it to a temporary debris storage site south of Lahaina.
The disaster devastated Maui and Hawaii more widely.
Caught in a hellish scene, some residents died in their cars, while others jumped into the ocean or tried to run for safety.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. It may be triggered by a downed power line that ignites a dry, invasive grass.
An AP investigation found the answer may lie in an oversized sewer under Hawaiian Electric Co. power lines. and something that kept the smoldering embers from the early fire that lit up in the morning and then flared up again in the high winds that evening.
Forensic experts and cadaver dogs sifted through the ashes to find possible cremated remains, and authorities collected DNA samples from family members of the victims. AP
The fire destroyed more than 2,000 buildings, mostly homes, and caused an estimated $5.5 billion in damage.
Nearly six months after the fire, about 5,000 evacuees are still staying in hotels or other short-term accommodations around Maui.
Economists have warned that without zoning and other changes the already high cost of housing in Lahaina could cost many people a lot after rebuilding.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
