What we know about the victims of the Maui wildfires as death toll climbs
The wildfires that devastated the Hawaiian island of Maui have claimed dozens of lives, with officials warning that the total death count will only rise as emergency workers comb through the ruins.
Gov. Josh Green has grimly estimated that crews will likely find “10 to 20” new bodies every day until the search is completed. About 1,300 people are still reported missing.
With Green’s estimate that the search will take at least 10 days to complete, the total death count could climb as high as 300 people in one of the nation’s deadliest wildfires in history.
But police have said that identifying the bodies of the dead is proving to be its own challenge, with decimated human remains breaking apart into dust in investigators’ hands.
Now a week after the wildfires began consuming West Maui and officials urged survivors to provide DNA samples to help identify the dead, reports have come in detailing the lives of those who perished in the flames.
The Tone family
Perhaps one of the most heartbreaking stories so far of the victims revolves around the couple Faaso and Malui Fonua Tone, who died along with their daughter, Salote Takafua, and grandson Tony Takafua.
Like many locals, the family of four appeared to be taking shelter inside their homes last Tuesday until the fires forced them to evacuate.
Unfortunately, the family didn’t make it out of the area. Their remains were found inside a burned car near their home Thursday, according to a statement from the family.
“The magnitude of our grief is indescribable,” the statement reads.
Lylas Kanemoto, who knew the Tone family, described the pain as “unbearable” but said the family will at least have some sort of closure as hundreds of others still await news on their own missing relatives.
“We as a community has to just embrace each other and support our families, friends, and our community to our best of our abilities,” he told The Associated Press.
Franklin Trejos
Franklin Trejos, 68, died in Maui’s Lahaina while trying to rescue a neighbor’s 3-year-old golden retriever, with the animal lover using his body to shield the dog, according to his friend.
Retired fire captain Geoff Bogar said he and Trejos, a friend of 35 years, stayed behind to try to help their neighbors and salvage their homes, but when the flames proved too tough to battle, the duo escaped in separate cars.
Bogar, who had to flee through his car’s window when the vehicle failed to start, returned to the remains of his neighborhood only to find his friend’s remains inside his car on top of the golden retriever, named Sam.
Trejos, a native of Costa Rica, had lived for years with Bogar and his wife, Shannon Weber-Bogar, helping her with her seizures.
“God took a really good man,” said Weber-Bogar, who has switched her Facebook profile picture to a photo of Trejos.
Carole Hartley
Another of the victims in Lahaina has been identified as Carole Hartley, a scuba-diving instructor and surfer who worked with children with Down syndrome.
Her heartbroken sister, Donna, confirmed her sister’s death after Hartley’s partner of 23 years returned to their home in the burnt city after they were split up.
“He called me, and he couldn’t talk to me at first because he was emotional,” Donna told Fox 10. “He said ‘I can’t find Carol. I can’t find Carol. I can’t find her, and I’m not going to stop until I find her.’ ”
The couple had been separated in the inferno, with Charles eventually collapsing and waking up in a hospital after being rescued by a fellow evacuee.
He returned with a search party and found what he believes to be her remains by their home.
“He found her by her watch that she had on,” Donna said.
Family of Jonathan Masaki Shiroma
Hawaiian News Now journalist Jonathan Masaki Shiroma revealed Saturday that four of his relatives were among the dead in a sorrowful moment live on-air.
The local journalist compared the moment he found out about his family to “a gut punch.”
“You hear the words of devastation, and then you realize that the hometown that, as a child, [you were] playing in the cane fields and near what was the Pioneer Mill, you know, and then the hearing that family members lost their lives as they tried to leave the flames that just engulfed so quickly, and one still remained missing — it becomes so personal,” he told LiveNOW from Fox.
The Lahaina native and retired lieutenant colonel with the US Army teared up as he is now reporting on the devastating event that has claimed his relatives and hometown. Shiroma did not directly name his deceased relatives.
“With the magnitude of what’s going on, everybody’s trying to make heads or tails of what to do next. And I believe slowly but surely that that is starting to happen,” he continued. “And it’s just beyond, I guess, the scope of what we can sometimes fathom of dealing with things.”
With Post wires
