Hawaii’s chief legal officer said that she was opening a probe into the handling of devastating wildfires that killed at least 67 people in the state this week, as criticism grows of the official response. The announcement came as residents of Lahaina were allowed back into the town for the first time — with most finding their homes had been reduced to ashes, and even the lucky few angry at a sense of abandonment. “Everything has been coconut wire,” said William Harry, referring to a system of rumours. “One person heard, then told another, but it’s not official information. They don’t come here and explain anything.”

 Another man, who did not want to be named, told he felt like he had been left to fend for himself. “Where is the government? Where are they?” he fumed. “This is insane. We can’t move freely, we don’t get the support, now we’ve heard about looting.” Hawaii’s Attorney General Anne Lopez said her office would be examining “critical decision-making and standing policies leading up to, during and after the wildfires on Maui and Hawai’i islands this week.” “My department is committed to understanding the decisions that were made before and during the wildfires and to sharing with the public the results of this review.”

 A view of a War Memorial Gym turned into donation and medical shelter to aid victims of the Maui wildfires in Kahului, Hawaii, US on August 11. — Reuters For some of those who made it back into Lahaina, there was elation as they tearfully reconnected with neighbours they feared might not have got out alive. “You made it!” cried Chyna Cho, as she embraced Amber Langdon amid the ruins. “I was trying to find you.” For some of the luckiest, there was joy — albeit tempered by the scale of the tragedy that counts among the worst natural disasters to hit the state of Hawaii.

 “I just couldn’t believe it,” Keith Todd told AFP after finding his home intact. “I’m so grateful, but at the same time it’s so devastating.” Todd, 64, discovered his house and his neighbour’s house untouched, and his solar panels providing electricity to the fridge, which was still dispensing ice on demand. But even those few whose homes still appeared habitable were being warned they might not be safe. “Some structures in the Lahaina water system were destroyed by the fire… These conditions may have caused harmful contaminants, including benzene and other volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), to enter the water system,” said Maui’s water department.

 “As a precaution…(we) are advising residents to not use the tap water for drinking and cooking until further notice.” Some of those who made it back to Lahaina wandered in stunned silence trying to take in the enormity of the destruction. Anthony La Puente said the shock of finding his home burned to nothing was profound. “It sucks not being able to find the things you grew up with, or the things you remember,” he told AFP of the house he had lived in for 16 years. “The only thing I can say is that it hurts. It takes a toll on you emotionally,” the 44-year-old said.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)