Biden, First Lady to Travel to Maui in Wake of Deadly Wildfires

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden will travel to Maui, Hawaii, on Monday to meet with first responders and tour the historic Lahaina community which was utterly destroyed when wildfires swept through it eight days ago.

During the Aug. 21 trip to the area, the president and first lady will see firsthand the devastating loss of life and property that occurred as a result of the disaster, and discuss the next steps in the recovery effort, the White House said Wednesday morning.

Speaking in Wisconsin on Tuesday, Biden said Hawaii would get everything it needs to respond to the disaster.

“Whatever you need, you’re gonna get and that’ll get aid into the hands of people who desperately need it, who have lost their loved ones, who have lost their homes,” he said while touring the facilities of Ingeteam, Inc., an electronic equipment manufacturer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Over the past week, the president has stayed closely in touch with FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, Hawaii Democratic Sens. Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz, as well as Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, who advised that the search and recovery efforts are expected to be at a stage early next week to allow for a presidential visit, the White House said.

It also said the president will continue to marshal “a whole-of-government response” to devastation as authorities search the burn zone in Lahaina, which runs from the hillsides to the Pacific Ocean, and carry out the slow, painstaking process of identifying the dead.

As of late Tuesday night, the death toll from the wildfires stood at 106. At the same time, officials in Hawaii are grappling with the cause of the disaster and why the devastation was so severe.

Though no one knows what actually caused the wildfires, what is known is that at least 20 fire sirens failed to sound as the fire spread and first responders on the scene discovered fire hydrants in the area had run dry.

In addition, according to a flurry of initial lawsuits filed since the fire, downed power lines across roadways effectively trapped some victims while seriously hampering the emergency response.

As Biden prepares to arrive in the area, Green continues to insist there’s no way of knowing right now how many people have died as a result of the fires, and that the final death toll may not be known for weeks or even months.

Already, the cost of the disaster is being estimated to be in the tens of billions of dollars.

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