As winds blew flames toward houses, neighbors tried to flee the burning neighborhood, abandoning their cars on blocked roads and running to the safety of the factory's outbuildings. All six died just blocks from their homes.
The group, which included an 11-year-old boy and his parents, were among the victims desperately trying to flee the Lahaina wildfire and were detailed for the first time in a report released Friday.
The investigation by the Hawaii Attorney General's Office Fire Safety Research Institute detailed the conditions that led to the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century and the attempts to contain its spread and evacuate town residents.
The report found “no evidence” that Hawaii officials prepared for wildfires despite days of warnings that dangerous wildfire weather was on the way, and said a lack of planning hampered efforts to evacuate Lahaina before it burned.
At least 102 people died in the wildfire that broke out on Aug. 8, 2023, due to extreme dryness and hurricane-force winds that passed over southern Maui.
According to the report, Joseph Lara, 86, was found parked outside his purple 2003 Ford Ranger pickup truck in the outlet mall parking lot and “may have been traveling northbound on Front Street before becoming stranded in traffic.”
His daughter told The Associated Press on Friday that she tries not to think about the fact that he might still be alive if he had chosen a different direction to escape.
“He was on his own, with no one to tell him where to go, here to there, there,” Misty Lara said. “I can't imagine what his final thoughts were.”
The report is a reminder of the trauma experienced by some 17,000 people who survived by driving through flames and smoke, fleeing the flames on foot or bicycle, or huddling in the ocean beyond a seawall for hours as propane tanks and car batteries exploded all around them.
“I grew up in Lahaina and, like so many others in the community, lost family members on Aug. 8,” said Deputy Attorney General Ciara Kahahane. “Through my involvement in this investigation, I have humbly sought to represent the voice of the people of Lahaina.”
More than 60 percent of the victims had attempted to flee, and many were found in or outside their cars or leaning against seawalls. About 80 percent of the deaths were in central Lahaina, where people had little time to evacuate as the fire raged and spread rapidly during the afternoon.
Many people were stuck in traffic jams due to fallen electric poles, accidents, non-functioning traffic lights and poor visibility. Several back roads that could have provided alternative escape routes were blocked by locked gates.
The average distance between people's homes and where they were rescued was 800 feet (244 meters), the report said.
Amid the chaos, a couple was found in their car, having turned into a cul-de-sac, with flames engulfing them from behind, and a man was found crouching on the front porch of a home, having abandoned his car, presumably to escape the heat and smoke.
Some people took refuge alone in fast food restaurants and furniture stores.
Six residents of the independent housing complex who did not evacuate also died indoors. Their average age was 86.
Some elderly people attempted to evacuate despite lacking reliable transportation.
Claudette Hemans, 68, called 911 to ask what to do, and the operator told her to evacuate.
According to the autopsy report released after her death, she had left the senior housing complex on an electric scooter, but it lost power as the flames spread.
She suffered severe burns and spent seven months in hospice care before passing away in March.
She was the 102nd and final victim to be identified.
