LAHAINA >> President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrive today on a grief-stricken Maui, where the number of wildfire deaths is expected to rise considerably above the 114 being reported and loved ones need answers about the fate of an estimated 1,000 still missing.
The Bidens plan to tour devastated Lahaina by air and meet with emergency responders, survivors and community members, as well as federal, state and local officials. After landing at Maui’s Kahului Airport sometime this morning they are expected to board helicopters to see the devastation of America’s deadliest wildfire disaster in a century.
Following the tour, Biden will pay respects to the victims, according to the White House.
Maui County announced Sunday that five more victims have been identified, all from Lahaina: Conchita Sagudang, 75; Danilo Sagudang, 55; Rodolfo Rocutan, 76; Jonathan Somaoang; 76; and Angelita Vasquez, 88.
Conchita Sagudang and Danilo Sagudang were mother and son, according to Conchita’s daughter Edna Sagudang in a Facebook post. She said Danilo Sagudang was her older brother, and both were from the Abra province in the Philippines. Edna Sagudang said they died trying to flee Lahaina’s Paunau subdivision.
Rocutan’s family is asking for donations to send him home to the Philippines for burial next to his late wife.
“Papa Oppo/Rodolfo/Rudy Rocutan didn’t make it due to Lahaina Maui Wildfire,” the family said in a GoFundMe plea. “He is (a) wise, friendly, caring, and loving Father and Grandfather,” they said. Rocutan was living in Lahaina with his sister, who survived the fire. Their house was burned and nothing was saved.
While Rocutan’s family said his death was confirmed to them Friday, officials said as of Sunday only 11 families of the 114 victims had been notified. Most of the deaths officially announced have been older adults, but children are expected to be among the dead as well.
“We understand that this is an incredibly difficult time for the families, and we ask that the media and the public respect the privacy of the grieving families,” the county said in a statement. “We will continue to work closely with the families to ensure that they are updated and supported throughout this process.”
The number of evacuees living in shelters Sunday totaled just 16, and the Hannibal Tavares Community Center shelter was closed Sunday, according to the American Red Cross.
An estimated 1,800 evacuees are being housed at six hotels, according to the Red Cross: Hyatt Regency in Lahaina; Outrigger Kaanapali Beach Resort in Lahaina; Royal Lahaina Resort; Honua Kai Outrigger in Lahaina; Maui Seaside Hotel in Kahului; and Westin Maui in Lahaina.
President Biden today plans to announce the appointment of Federal Emergency Management Agency Region 9 Administrator Bob Fenton “as the chief federal response coordinator to oversee a long-term coordinated federal recovery effort,” the White House said. “Mr. Fenton is one of the nation’s most experienced disaster response-and- recovery officials who has been on the ground in Hawaii from the day the wildfires started.”
Biden already has directed Fenton to make sure every survivor and evacuee “has access to everything the federal government can offer to heal and rebuild as fast as possible,” according to the White House.
But state Sen. Lynn DeCoite (D, East and Upcountry Maui-Molokai-Lanai) on Sunday visited Waipuna Chapel in Kula and Church of the Nazarene in Upcountry Maui that was also heavily hit by destructive wildfires that burned dozens of homes on Aug. 8. The churches continue to provide aid without the help of FEMA assistance, which would be welcomed, DeCoite said.
“These churches are amazing,” she said. “They’re also intaking people that need a place to stay and they’re so organized — inventory, checklists, distribution — all outside of government because FEMA has taken so long to help Upcountry Maui. Sometimes you just have to work outside of government. We’re not waiting. We’re just going to go.”
DeCoite understands what she called “bureaucratic red tape that frustrates a lot of us, me in particular,” but said that federal aid should not be accompanied by conditions that could further harm already traumatized survivors.
To Biden, DeCoite said, “don’t walk away and say, ‘You didn’t read the fine print.’ Show he’s here for them. That’s basically what I’m hoping for.”
U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda, whose congressional district includes the neighbor islands and rural Oahu, has been invited to tour Lahaina today with the Bidens after the White House was asked to treat the visit respectfully.
Survivors need federal help, Tokuda said, but they need it delivered “with aloha, with compassion, with care. They want help and they want it urgently, but they wanted it done right and they wanted it to be done with respect.”
“We’ve all conveyed to the White House — and they have been extremely receptive — that any visits must be done with sensitivity and should not hamper any recovery relief efforts,” Tokuda said. “I have confidence this will be done in a respectful manner that does not impinge upon any recovery efforts. This is a tragedy that even the leader of our country feels. The White House understands how important it is to respect the sensitivities and the process of recovery, but it’s also important that he be present. I tell people that you can’t unsee what you see, you can’t unsmell what you smell, you can’t unfeel the things that you experience there. It stays with you.”
While there have been reports of predatory buyers offering to purchase what’s left of Lahaina land from distressed property owners, the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and the state Consumer Resource Center said Sunday that had no information.
“At this time we are unable to provide data or details specific to the issue regarding predatory property purchases,” DCCA spokesperson William Nhieu wrote in an email to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Esther Brown, complaints and enforcement officer for the Regulated Industries Complaints Office, said in a statement, “We are disheartened to hear that survivors of this catastrophe are being approached by unscrupulous persons whose only goal is to prey upon them. If someone approaches you with a deal or offer, and you did not reach out to them first, please hang up the phone or walk away. Chances are high that unsolicited deals are not a legitimate operation or part of the federal, state, county and private partnership working to assist those affected.”
Property owners who might receive unsolicited offers are asked to report the name, place of business, telephone number and address of any person to DCCA’s Consumer Resource Center at 808-587-4272.
The White House on Sunday encouraged survivors and evacuees to register for federal assistance at disasterassistance.gov or call 1-800-621-3362 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The White House on Sunday also said:
>> There are more than 1,000 federal personnel on Maui, including approximately 450 search and rescue team members and 40 canines trained to identify remains. FEMA’s Disaster Survivor Assistance teams are going to shelters and survivors’ homes to help people register for assistance.
>> Biden has approved $8.2 million in assistance to over 2,700 households, including $3.4 million in initial rental assistance.
>> FEMA has made available more than 50,000 meals, 75,000 liters of water, 5,000 cots and 10,000 blankets and shelter supplies to Maui County for distribution.
>> By the end of Sunday, everyone in an evacuation shelter will be offered temporary lodging in hotels through a partnership between the Hawaii Fire Relief Housing program administered by the American Red Cross and funded by FEMA.
>> Nearly 650 personnel from the Department of Defense and 140 members of the Coast Guard are assisting with fire suppression, searching debris for remains and distributing fuel.
>> The Environmental Protection Agency has deployed nearly 50 responders to identify, remove and safely dispose of household hazardous waste and disaster debris before the clearing of debris. The EPA plans to develop a “cultural resources and historic properties plan” with the state Historic Preservation Division to help “identify, protect and properly handle cultural resources, which were significantly impacted during the wildfire.”
>> The U.S. Small Business Administration said survivors and businesses that register for FEMA assistance also are eligible for low-interest disaster loans. SBA last week opened a Disaster Business Recovery Center for homeowners, renters and small-business owners at Hawaii Technology Development Corp., Maui Research Technology Center at 590 Lipoa Parkway in Kihei.
>> The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will provide 90 days of relief from foreclosures of Federal Housing Administration-insured mortgages and home equity conversion mortgages. Homeowners should contact their mortgage or loan servicer or call the FHA Resource Center at 1-800-304-9320.
>> The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has created a disaster and emergencies guide to handle finances, including resources to help impacted residents recover, such as housing issues, protecting finances, dealing with property damage, managing bills, and asking for help from financial companies like banks, credit cards and other lenders. Complaints can be made by calling 855-411-CFPB (2372).
