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last yr.

78-Year-Old Woman Recognized as 100th Victim of Maui Wildfire

Sharlene Rabang's death attributed to wildfire after family's fight for recognition, highlighting the vulnerability of elderly and low-income individuals in natural disasters.

Briena Mae Rabang, 10, holds the ashes of her great-grandmother Sharlene Rabang, who was named as the 100th victim of the Lahaina wildfire, while posing for a photo with her father Branden, left, and grandfather Brandon, right, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Kahului, Hawaii. Sharlene's family fought to have her listed as a victim due to smoke inhalation after she died weeks after fleeing the fire. "Me and my mom was really close, we talked multiple times a day," Brandon said. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
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Overview

  • Sharlene Rabang, a 78-year-old woman with a history of cancer, COVID, and high blood pressure, became the 100th victim of the deadliest U.S. wildfire in over a century after fleeing the wildfire that destroyed her town on Maui.
  • Rabang's death was initially not attributed to the wildfire, but her family fought to have it recognized as a contributing cause, which was eventually confirmed by Honolulu's medical examiner.
  • The wildfire, which occurred on August 8, devastated Lahaina, the onetime capital of the former kingdom of Hawaii, and destroyed an estimated 3,000 homes and apartments.
  • Studies suggest that wildfires disproportionately affect vulnerable people, such as the elderly, those with a diminished capacity to respond to danger, or low-income individuals. Of the Maui fire victims, 60 were 65 or older.
  • Rabang's family faced both financial and emotional challenges in the aftermath of her death, as they needed to prove she was a fire victim for her husband to receive government help for funeral or other expenses.