Maui fire live updates: Hawaii death toll may rise by 10 to 20 people each day

Carole Hartley, 60, from Grand Bay, Alabama is among the victims who perished in the Maui wildfires.

Hartley’s sister, Donna Gardner Hartley posted on Facebook that her sister’s remains were found on the property she shared with her partner, Charles Paxton.

Mr Paxton and Hartley got separated when they were trying to evacuate due to the fires.

“The winds were vicious and kept changing, [Mr Paxton] said they were inside a dark smoke felt like a tornado and they could not see nothing,” Ms Gardner Hartley wrote.

“They kept calling each other’s names. He was on one side of the house getting the truck (loaded) with critical stuff and the back of his struck blew up.”

Mr Paxton was badly burned by the fires but was found by his friends and treated for his injuries.

The White House defended President Joe Biden’s federal response to the devastating wildfires in Hawaii on Monday saying the president is “deeply concerned” and sending federal aid.

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre spent the first half of Monday’s press briefing focusing on Mr Biden’s federal action to assist officials and residents in Maui.

“You’ve heard from [Mr Biden] already on Thursday, certainly you’ll hear from him continuously this week,” Ms Jean-Pierre said. “Look, this is something that the President is clearly deeply concerned about.”

Ms Jean-Pierre’s statement was in defence of Mr Biden who has faced criticism for what some believe to be an emotionally indifferent approach to addressing the fires.

Despite declaring the fires to be a major disaster last week, Mr Biden nor Vice President Kamala Harris have plans to visit Hawaii which has led to critique.

Several cellphone service companies have restored service to parts of Maui after the wildfires caused widespread outages and power outages.

T-Mobile told CNN on Monday they successfully stationed generators to some cell phone towers and was using portable cell service terminals to provide power in areas where fiber connections were destroyed.

AT&T said in a press release that it has restored service in north Ka’anapali and is using portable satellites as well as operating drones over impacted areas.

Verizon said it restored cell service towers along Hawaii Route 37 over the weekend and is using satellite-based mobile hotspots at evacuation sites.

As responders battle to bring blaze under control and recovery efforts continue, questions begin to be asked about why alarm systems failed to sound and expert warnings were ignored

Three law firms have filed a class-action lawsuit against Hawaiian Electric – the company that supplies the islands with 95 per cent of its electricity, claiming the company “inexcusable kept their power lines energised during forecasted high fire danger conditions.”

The lawsuit, obtained by Spectrum News, alleges that several branches of the energy company in Hawaii and Maui did not take proper action when the NWS issued the fire danger warning. De-energising power lines is common practice in the Western United States when high wildfire warnings are issued.

“There was absolutely knowledge within the state and within the electric industry that fire was a huge, huge concern on the island of Maui, and even more so than any of the other islands,” the complaint says.

In a statement provided to The Independent, Hawaiian Electric said, “As has always been our policy, we don’t comment on pending litigation. Our immediate focus is on supporting emergency response efforts on Maui and restoring power for our customers and communities as quickly as possible. At this early stage, the cause of the fire has not been determined and we will work with the state and county as they conduct their review.”

Hawaii Senator Mazie Hirono said she plans to support the investigation into Hawaii officials’ response to the wildfires and how their actions could have made the disaster worse.

“I’m not going to make any excuses for this tragedy, but the attorney general has launched a review of what happened with those sirens and some of the other actions that were taken,” Ms Hirono said to CNN on Sunday.

Many residents of Maui said they were not given any warning that wildfires were rapidly approaching neighbourhoods, leaving very little time for evacuation.

Ms Hirono said investigations will occur but at this time they’re focusing on recovery and relief.

“We’re going to need to provide a lot of support. That is why I’m asking for and I expect to receive bipartisan support for additional funds that will enable us to recover,” Ms Hirono said.

In a press conference on Sunday, Maui police chief John Pelletier urged those with missing family members to submit their DNA so they can identify remains.

“If you’ve got missing family members, go to the FAC (Family Assistance Center), we need you do to the DNA test, we need to identify your loved ones,” Mr Pelletier said.

Cadaver dogs have only searched approximately 3 per cent of the search area in which authorities have found the remains of 96 people thus far.

That number is expected to rise as dogs search more of the area.

But due to the scorching wildfire, officials are having a difficult time identifying the deceased. Mr Pelletier described picking up remains that “fall apart.”

A family of four who died in the Maui wildfires after getting trapped in their car while trying to flee from Lahaina have now been identified.

The bodies of Salote Takafua, her son Tony Takafua and parents Faaso and Malui Fonua Tone were found inside a burned-out car near their home on Thursday, according to Hawaii News Now.

In a statement, the family said: “The magnitude of our grief is indescribable, and their memories will forever remain etched in our hearts.”