On the 13th day, the families of the missing people in the wildfire-stricken area of Maui, Hawaii, are waiting for news about their families, holding on to the slightest glimmer of hope.
According to the Associated Press on the 20th, in the village of Lahaina, which was devastated by wildfires on the island of Maui, Kevin Buckleague (30) is still going to various shelters to find his wife, father-in-law and mother-in-law, who have not been reached for 13.
“I won’t give up until I see them with my own eyes,” Buckleague said. “What else can I do?”
Leona Castillo, also searching for her 28-year-old son who has gone missing since the fire, holds out hope that her son may still be alive, but she is prepared to face the hard truth.
According to the authorities, as of 6:00 pm the previous day, about 85% of the target area was searched, and the number of confirmed deaths was counted as 114. Of these, only 10 deaths have been identified.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency estimates the number of missing people at 1,100 to 1,300. Hawaii Governor Josh Green said the day before that 40 search dogs and 470 rescuers were conducting a search operation, but considering the total number of missing people, there is still a long way to go.
During this, President Joe Biden, and his wife plan to visit the Maui fire site on the 21st, comfort the families of the dead and missing, and encourage emergency responders and firefighters. Meanwhile, CNN reported that residents who survived the fire are also suffering from severe trauma.
“Every day I go through missing persons lists and find a name I know,” said Kaniela Ing, a former Hawaii state legislator who descends from a family that has lived on Maui for seven generations. It is too much grief for people to bear.”
Jose Vargas, 20, who survived the fire because he was out of the house but lost his 15-year-old brother, said he had been unable to sleep in his bed since his brother’s remains were found. “I don’t want to sleep comfortably,” he said. “I will continue to sleep on the floor and feel uncomfortable, and I will remember my brother who left in pain like that.”
David Gobel, who also narrowly escaped and survived the fire, made plans to leave Maui. He tried to escape in a car with his family when the flames engulfed the village, but when the roads were full of cars, he got out of the car and jumped into the seawater and was rescued a few hours later.
“I have nowhere to live or work here,” he said, working as a bartender at a resort in Maui. For the time being, he will move to work in San Diego, California, where his older brother resides, and his wife plans to take the children to her parents’ house in Mexico.
“We’ve lived happily ever after in a nice home,” Gobel said. “We leave with the hope that we’ll come back.”