Death toll from Hawaii wildfire rises to 102 after woman found dead of burns

By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER

HONOLULU (AP) — The death toll from the most devastating wildfire in the United States in more than a century has risen to 102, authorities in Hawaii said Monday.

Claudette Heermance, 68, died March 28 in a hospice in Honolulu from complications from the fire that devastated the historic town of Lahaina on the Hawaiian island of Maui last year.

The Maui Police Department announced the death, citing information from the Honolulu Medical Examiner’s Office.

Heermance suffered burns to 20 percent of her body and her case was complicated by numerous other medical conditions, said Dr. Masahiko Kobayashi, the Honolulu medical examiner.

On the day of the fire, she was initially taken to a hospital on Maui, but was flown to Oahu the next day to receive treatment in the state’s only burn unit. Almost four months later, she was admitted to a hospice.

Other causes of death included cardiovascular disease, end-stage renal failure and pressure ulcers, said another coroner who declined to give her name.

The August 8 wildfire was already the worst in the United States in over a century. The flames raged through the historic town of Lahaina, destroying around 3,000 buildings and forcing 12,000 residents into homelessness.

Many did not manage to get outside in time and escape the fire. Some jumped into the sea to escape the flames.

In February, authorities confirmed the 101st death.

The fire victims ranged in age from 7 to 97, but more than two-thirds were 60 years old or older, according to the Maui Police Department’s list of known victims.