GoFundMe set up for Irish father of two who lost everything in Hawaii wildfires
What is left of Peter O'Riordan's Lahaina home after fires ravaged the area in Maui, Hawaii. He has called on Elon Musk and Britney Spears to send help. Photo: Peter O'Riordan
A GoFundMe has been launched to help the Irish father of two, whose family lost everything in the Hawaii wildfires, rebuild his life.
Peter O’Riordan’s aunt, Noelle Twomey, appealed to people to donate whatever they can to help her nephew, originally from Cork, but who runs a boat hire company on the Hawaiian island of Maui, and who has been working frantically on the aid effort in his devastated town of Lahaina which was razed in the deadly August 6 wildfires.
“My nephew Peter and his sons Olivier, nine, and Romeo, six, lost absolutely everything,” she said. “Their house, their car and all of their possessions were reduced to a pile of ash.
“Myself and their cousins, Emma and Robert, are appealing to you for any donation, no matter how small, to help this little family rebuild their lives.
“Peter has been working tirelessly within his community to transport and deliver goods to all of those affected by this horrendous tragedy."
The blaze that tore through Lahaina last week has now killed at least 106 people, Hawaii’s governor has said.
The announcement came as a mobile morgue unit arrived to help Hawaii officials work painstakingly to identify those killed in the wildfires.
The US Department of Health and Human Services deployed a team of coroners, pathologists and technicians along with exam tables, X-ray units and other equipment to identify victims and process remains, said Jonathan Greene, the agency’s deputy.
“It’s going to be a very, very difficult mission,” Mr Greene said. “And patience will be incredibly important because of the number of victims.”
Just two victims have been named so far — Lahaina residents Robert Dyckman, 74, and Buddy Jantoc, 79 — while authorities said they have identified three more victims and will release the names after notifying the next of kin.
Crews using cadaver dogs have scoured about 32% of the area, the County of Maui said.
Maui police chief, John Pelletier, renewed an appeal for families with missing relatives to provide DNA samples. So far, 41 samples have been submitted and 13 DNA profiles have been obtained from remains.
But Governor Josh Green warned that scores more bodies could be found. When asked by local reporters if many children are among the missing, Mr Green said: “Tragically, yes… when the bodies are smaller, we know it’s a child.”
He described some of the sites being searched as “too much to share or see from just a human perspective”. Another complicating factor, Mr Green said, is that storms with rain and high winds were forecast for the weekend.
A week after a blaze tore through historic Lahaina, many survivors started moving into hundreds of hotel rooms set aside for displaced locals, while donations of food, ice, water and other essentials poured in. Thousands of people are staying in shelters, in hotel rooms and Airbnb units, or with friends.
Around 2,000 homes and businesses still do not have electricity after the power company restored supply to more than 10,000 customers. The fire also contaminated water supplies in many areas.
The wildfires, some of which have not yet been fully contained, are already the deadliest in the US in more than a century. Their cause is still under investigation.
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