Maui police increased the death toll of the Lahaina fire to 100 on Tuesday, saying the latest victim was a 78-year-old woman who died of injuries sustained in the blaze.
The police released the name of Sharlene Rabang of Lahaina in a press release. All but one of the fire victims have been identified.
According to Rabang’s published obituary, she was a great-grandmother who died on Sept. 4 of complications from smoke inhalation. Rabang was born on Oahu and had lived in West Maui for over four decades, according to the obituary.
She had been transported to Oahu for medical care, said Maui police spokeswoman Alana Pico by email.
It’s unclear why her name was only released on Tuesday, more than two months after Rabang died.
Pico said the cause of death “was just confirmed to being related to the fires within the past few days. She referred questions about further details to the Honolulu medical examiner.
Acting supervising investigator Charlotte Carter said by phone that six months is the standard amount of time it takes to establish cause of death in cases reviewed by the medical examiner’s office.
Previously, 99 people were reported to have died in the fire. Maui police also said Tuesday that there would be no more daily updates on wildfire victim updates.
“Moving forward, this will be the final daily issuance regarding the identities of Maui wildfire disaster victims, and current statistics. A release will be issued if there are any further updates,” the police said, adding the fatality figure is an estimate.
Civil Beat’s coverage of Maui County is supported in part by grants from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.
Leave A Comment