st. john's lodge no 2 - The Trestleboard

the melting pipes in burning homes leaked, the network lost pressure despitethe presence of working backup generators.

Around 4:40 p.m. HST (UTC 02:40), the fire reportedly crossed Honoapi'ilani Highway and entered the main part of Lāhaīnā, forcing residents to self evacuate with little or no notice. At this time, bumper to bumper traffic developed. By 5:45 p.m. HST, the fire had reached the shoreline, when the United States Coast Guard first learned of people jumping into the ocean at Lāhaīnā to escape the fire. Survivors later recalled getting trapped in a traffic jam and realizing they needed to go into the water when cars around them either caught fire or exploded.

Officials said that civil defense sirens were not activated during the fire even though Hawaii has the world's largest integrated outdoor siren warning system, with over 80 sirens on Maui alone meant to be used in cases of natural disasters. Several residents later told journalists that they had received no warning and did not know what was happening until they encountered smoke or flames. There had been no power or communications in Lahaina for much of the day, and authorities issued a confusing series of social media alerts which reached a small audience.

The death toll stood at 67 on August 11, but that number reflected only victims found outside buildings, because local authorities had waited for FEMA to send its specialized personnel to search building interiors. According to federal officials, many of the victims found outside "were believed to have died in their vehicles". The fire burned 2,170 acres of land. PDC and FEMA estimated that 2,207 buildings had been destroyed, with a total of 2,719 exposed to the fires, and set the damage estimate at $5.52 billion as of August 11. The next day, Governor Josh Green announced the damage was close to $6 billion. Many historic structures were destroyed, including Waiola Church and Pioneer Inn. 86% of burned structures in Lāhaīnā were residential.

As of August 12, at least 93 people had been confirmed dead in and around Lāhaīnā with only 3% of the area searched. The number of dead was expected to rise further as FEMA search and rescue specialists searched the interiors of burned down buildings. Very few victims have been identified.

By August 25, with 95% of the disaster area searched, 115 casualties had been confirmed with an additional 388 people missing. On August 28 officials reported that 99% of the area had been searched, with the death toll unchanged at 115. The disaster area remained restricted to authorized personnel due to unstable structures, exposed electrical wires, and potentially toxic ash and debris.

The Lāhaīnā fire's death toll was the largest for a wildfire in the U.S. since the Cloquet fire of 1918, which killed 453 people