Fire fatalities reach 111 as the president plans to come to Maui | News, Sports, Jobs

The Maui Police Department Forensic Facility in Wailuku is shown Tuesday. Police publicly announced the names of three more victims of the Lahaina fires on Wednesday as the death toll reached 111. DNA samples are being taken at the Family Assistance Center at the Kahului Community Center to help identify victims, and more experts are on their way to Maui to help with the process. The center is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

Three more victims of the Lahaina fires were publicly identified Wednesday as the death toll reached 111 and the federal government sent in more teams to help identify victims.

The Maui Police Department said 71-year-old Melva Benjamin, 90-year-old Virginia Dofa and 79-year-old Alfredo Galinato, all of Lahaina, were among the 111 deaths who’ve been confirmed so far. Police said their next of kin had been notified.

“It is with a heavy heart that the County of Maui and the Maui Police Department confirms the following identities of the victims involved in the West Maui Wildfire incident,” MPD said in a news release Wednesday evening. “Our hearts go out to the families, friends, and community affected by this devastating event.”

Police publicly identified the first two victims Tuesday as 74-year-old Robert Dyckman and 79-year-old Buddy Jantoc, also from Lahaina.

Another four individuals have been identified, but their families have not been located or notified yet, police said.

“We share these numbers with you so you can have perspective, but one individual by one individual, it makes us, like I said, heartbroken,” Green said during a news conference on Wednesday afternoon before the latest names were released. “And specifically to the families that we have been able to identify the individuals, Mr. Dyckman, Mr. Jantoc … that’s where our hearts break. And we know there’s going to be a lot of stories like this. So we’re also adding capacity to bring in experts that can work on DNA.”

According to Maui County, 35 autopsies had been completed as of Wednesday morning. Of the seven people who had been identified at the time, five were identified by fingerprints and two by DNA. Sixteen DNA profiles had been obtained from human remains, and 52 samples had been collected from family members.

Police have been urging family members to provide DNA samples at the Family Assistance Center at the Kahului Community Center as they work to identify victims and help people track down missing loved ones. The FBI is also assisting with obtaining DNA samples from out-of-state family members.

Signs with photos of missing loved ones and phone numbers to call have appeared on the walls of businesses and other public places. The Red Cross said Monday that it had received about 2,500 calls from people looking for missing loved ones; the organization was able to resolve about 800 of those calls.

As search efforts continue, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced Wednesday that President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will travel to Maui on Monday to meet with first responders, survivors and officials to see the impacts of the deadly wildfires and discuss next recovery steps.

The president declared a disaster last week in the wake of the fires that were first reported Aug. 8 in Lahaina and Kula. The Lahaina fire, which destroyed more than 2,000 structures and burned about 2,170 acres, was 89 percent contained as of Wednesday, while the Kula fire that burned 19 structures and about 202 acres was 80 percent contained, and the Olinda fire of 1,081 acres was 85 percent contained, according to the county.

“The President continues to marshal a whole-of-government response to the deadly Maui fires, and he has committed to delivering everything that the people of Hawaii need from the federal government as they recover from this disaster,” Jean-Pierre said in a statement on Wednesday.

President Biden had previously said that he planned to visit soon but didn’t want to disrupt the response efforts. Jean-Pierre explained that the president has stayed in contact with FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, U.S. Sens. Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz of Hawaii, as well as the governor, “who advised that the search and recovery efforts are expected to be at a stage early next week to allow for a presidential visit.”

More federal resources are also on the way to help identify victims. The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response announced Wednesday that 25 additional experts had been deployed from the National Disaster Medical Systems’ Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team, which will help Maui County with victim identification and respectfully processing human remains, and a Victim Identification Center Team, which will support the Family Assistance Center. This brings the total of deployed emergency response experts to 75.

The teams can include medical examiners, coroners, funeral directors/mortuary officers, forensic specialists, autopsy assistants, fingerprint specialists, logistics specialists, and security and safety specialists, according to the agency’s news release Wednesday.

The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response also deployed a disaster portable morgue unit, which consists of about 22.5 tons of supplies and equipment needed for victim identification and processing human remains, such as mortuary examination tables, X-ray units and laboratory equipment.

* Managing Editor Colleen Uechi can be reached at cuechi@mauinews.com.

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