Authorities in Hawaii are at the point where they’re going to have to go ahead and release the names of those they believe still missing after the horrific wildfire that wiped out the historic town of Lahaina killing at least 115 earlier this month, deciding that the need to have people who may still be alive on the list to come forward outweighs the insensitivity of skipping a formal notification of those whose loved ones indeed perished in the conflagration, Hawaii News Now reports.
Officials are optimistic the move will significantly weed down the 1,000+ unaccounted for and allow them to come up with a more realistic toll once people come forward. A similar situation happened in the weeks and months after the formerly deadliest blaze of the 21st century, the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, California. As many as 1,000 were thought missing after that fire but the number eventually went down to 85 after officials published a list and those unaccounted for came forward.