Maui Officials Confirm Death of Child for First Time, Nearly Two Weeks After Local Media Reported It

Search and recovery team members check charred buildings and cars in the aftermath of the
YUKI IWAMURA/AFP via Getty Images
Kristina Wong

Maui county officials on Thursday confirmed the death of a child from the Lahaina fire for the first time, nearly two weeks after local media reported it.

On August 24, Maui authorities confirmed the deaths of eight additional residents, including seven-year-old Tony Takafua.

Takafua is the first child to be confirmed dead of many believed to have been killed in the fire.

Authorities at the same time also confirmed the deaths of his mother and grandparents, Salote Tone, Faaoso Tone, and Maluifonua Tone.

The confirmation of the deaths comes nearly two weeks after local news media reported it.

On August 13, Hawaii News Now reported that a family of four was killed while attempting to flee the flames.

“The four were identified as Faaso and Malui Fonua Tone, their daughter Salote Takafua, and her son, Tony Takafua. They were found Thursday in a burned-out car near their home,” the outlet reported.

Survivors of the family even issued a statement at the time, which read:

On behalf of our family, we bid aloha to our beloved parents, Faaso and Malui Fonua Tone, as well as our dear sister Salote Takafua and her son, Tony Takafua. The magnitude of our grief is indescribable, and their memories will forever remain etched in our hearts.

The outlet reported that the family had been longtime Lahaina residents, living just beneath the Lahainaluna School.

It is not clear why it took weeks for Maui county officials to confirm their deaths.

So far, only 115 deaths have been confirmed, but the number is expected to be in the hundreds. Many of the deceased are expected to be children, officials have said.

An aerial image taken on August 10, 2023 shows destroyed homes and buildings on the waterfront burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii. At least 36 people have died after a fast-moving wildfire turned Lahaina to ashes, officials said August 9, 2023 as visitors asked to leave the island of Maui found themselves stranded at the airport. The fires began burning early August 8, scorching thousands of acres and putting homes, businesses and 35,000 lives at risk on Maui, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency said in a statement. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

An aerial image taken on August 10, 2023, shows destroyed homes and buildings on the waterfront burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images).

Some schools in Lahaina were closed early Tuesday morning because of power outages that began on Maui as early as Monday evening, prompting some parents to leave their children at home alone or in the care of other family members as they went to work.

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