LAHAINA, Hawaii - Anger was growing on Saturday over the official response to a horrific wildfire that levelled a Hawaiian town, killing at least 93 people in the deadliest wildfire in the United States for over 100 years.

Over 2,200 structures were damaged or destroyed as the fire tore through Lahaina on Maui island, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) said.

The blaze caused US$5.5 billion (S$7.4 billion) worth of damage and left thousands of people homeless.

Hawaiian authorities said they were opening a probe into the handling of the inferno.

A congresswoman from the state acknowledged that officials had underestimated the danger, and residents said there had been no warnings.

“The mountain behind us caught on fire and nobody told us anything,” resident Vilma Reed told AFP. “You know when we found (out) there was a fire? When it was across the street from us.”

Ms Reed, whose house was destroyed by the blaze, said she and her family had fled the flames with what they had in their car, and were now dependent on handouts and the kindness of strangers.

“This is my home now,” the 63-year-old said, gesturing to the car she has been sleeping in with her daughter, her grandson and two pet cats.

In the ashy ruins of Lahaina, Mr Anthony Garcia told AFP how the fire had gutted his apartment.

“It took everything, everything! It’s heartbreaking,” the 80-year-old said. “It’s a lot to take in.”

The town of more than 12,000, once the proud home of the Hawaiian royal family, has been reduced to ruins, its lively hotels and restaurants turned to ashes.

A majestic banyan tree that has been the centre of the community for 150 years has been scarred by the flames, but still stands upright, its branches denuded of green and its sooty trunk transformed into an awkward skeleton.

Deadliest in a century

The county of Maui said in a Saturday night update that the number of confirmed fatalities had increased to 93, up from 89.

Governor Josh Green warned that the official death toll was bound to grow. “It’s going to continue to rise. We want to brace people for that,” he said.

The new toll makes the blaze the deadliest in the US since 1918, when 453 people died in Minnesota and Wisconsin, according to non-profit research group National Fire Protection Association.

The death toll surpassed 2018’s Camp Fire in California, which virtually wiped the small town of Paradise off the map and killed 86 people.

Maui police chief John Pelletier said only a small fraction of the disaster zone has been searched and only two victims have been identified because of how badly they were burned.

“The remains we’re finding are from a fire that melted metal,” he said. “We have to do rapid DNA to identify every one of these.

“When we pick up the remains... they fall apart.”

‘Underestimated the lethality’

Hawaii congresswoman Jill Tokuda told CNN that officials had been taken by surprise by the tragedy. “We underestimated the lethality, the quickness of fire,” she said.

Mr Green, the governor, defended the immediate response, saying the situation had been complicated by the presence of multiple fires and by the strength of the winds.

“Having seen that storm, we have doubts that much could have been done with a fiery fast-moving fire like that,” he said.

Hawaii Attorney-General Anne Lopez said her office would examine “critical decision-making and standing policies leading up to, during and after the wildfires on Maui and Hawaii islands this week”.

Maui suffered numerous power outages during the crisis, preventing many residents from receiving emergency alerts on their mobile phones – something, Ms Tokuda said, officials should have prepared for. “We have got to make sure that we do better,” she added.

The fires follow other extreme weather events in North America this summer, with record-breaking wildfires still burning across Canada and a major heatwave baking the US south-west.

Europe and parts of Asia have also endured soaring temperatures, with major fires and floods wreaking havoc. Scientists have said global warming caused by carbon emissions is contributing to the extreme weather.

Jail

For many who fled the flames, their misery was compounded on Saturday as they were prevented from returning to their homes.

Maui police said members of the public would not be allowed into Lahaina – even some of those who could prove they lived there.

“If your home or former home is in the affected area, you will not be allowed to (enter) until the affected area has been declared safe,” a press release said.

“Anyone entering the disaster area... is subject to a misdemeanour crime punishable by up to one year in jail and a US$2,000 fine.”

Some residents waited at a roadblock for hours, hoping to be allowed in to comb through the ashes or to look for missing pets or loved ones.

Then abruptly, the way was blocked, NBC News reported, sparking fury.

“How are people supposed to get there? The roads are closed,” fumed Lahaina resident Daniel Rice.

“Get some authority out there. Figure it out. This is nonsense.” AFP