Maui fire: Families in Lahaina describe devastation after wildfire

Just half a mile away from the fire line that marks the edge of the devastation in Lahaina, an unofficial aid operation has sprung up to provide much-needed food to people in need.

The death toll from the fire on the Hawaiian island of Maui now stands at 99, making it the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century.

Nearly the entire town of Lahaina was destroyed, but remarkably, some areas are still standing.

Those who escaped the blaze are coming to donate supplies. Those who lost everything are coming to pick them up.

“It’s devastating,” says Alex Freeman, one of the volunteers keeping this grass-roots operation going.

“You can’t even fathom that right on the other side of that wall are corpses. It’s literally right there.

“We can’t even wrap our heads around what’s going on.”

Federal emergency workers are said to be on the ground, but they have not been seen here.

At the same time, recovery crews combing through charred homes and vehicles are likely to find 10 to 20 more victims per day, the governor has warned.

Josh Green told CBS News it could take up to 10 days to learn the full death toll.

The number of missing now stands at around 1,300, he said.

Alex is standing in the grounds of his father-in-law Leo’s house, adamant that he will not leave the area. Not far away is a sign saying “Looters will be shot”.

He is there to dish out emergency supplies, but also to protect the property from intruders.

Other houses on the street are full of people surviving on community donations – no power or water.

Two houses burned in the neighbourhood. The rest are still there, now packed with people relying on community members for food and water.

The children a few doors down from Alex’s house were here as the town burned, their parents unable to get back from work. It was an excruciating 48 hours before Lorly Bumagat learned if her five-year-old son had survived.

“I don’t know – I’m still I cannot imagine. We’re alive. That’s all the matters now,” she said as her son and his cousins played nearby. One little girl complained about the lack of internet access.

There are many children in this mostly Filipino neighbourhood. Lots of families stayed and watched Lahaina burn – they had nowhere to go.

In the driveway of one house, three very old ladies, one on a cot, were fanning themselves.

One said she had finally got her blood pressure medicine, so she would be OK.