GEOFF BENNETT: Good evening, and welcome to the "NewsHour."

The grim and grueling search operation across Maui's fire-ravaged communities has now entered a new phase.

The confirmed death toll stands at 115 people.

But hundreds more are still missing.

Stephanie Sy has our report.

STEPHANIE SY: More than two weeks after the Maui wildfires, the missing remained nameless, until late Thursday.

JOHN PELLETIER, Maui County, Hawaii, Police Chief: We're releasing this list of 388 names today because we know that it will help with the investigation.

STEPHANIE SY: Maui County officials hope publicizing the 388 identities will help narrow down search-and-rescue efforts.

JOHN PELLETIER: We do know that once those names come out, it can and will cause pain for some folks that are affected by this.

This is not an easy thing to do, but we want to make sure that we are doing everything we can possibly to make this investigation the most complete, thorough to date.

STEPHANIE SY: Meanwhile, the victims that have been identified now include a family that ranged in age from 73 to 7, the young boy the first known child victim from the fires.

There's anger on top of pain.

Questions and lawsuits are taking aim at Hawaiian Electric.

Maui County is alleging that the state's main utility showed negligence by failing to shut power off amid fierce winds and a fire weather watch.

Cell phone videos from the early hours of the blaze show sparks flaring near toppled power lines.

In a statement, Hawaiian Electric said they're - - quote -- "very disappointed" that Maui County chose this litigious path while the investigation is still unfolding.

The lawsuit also claims the company has compromised evidence by removing damaged lines and other equipment, evidence of potential liability in a disaster whose toll remains incalculable.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Stephanie Sy.

GEOFF BENNETT: We are going to take a closer look with Kaniela Ing.

He is a seventh-generation indigenous Hawaiian from Maui and a former state legislator.

He now serves as national director of the Green New Deal Network.

Thank you for being with those.

And, as we just reported, Maui County is now suing the Hawaiian Electric company, alleging that its negligence led to the worst wildfire in this country's history in some 100 years.

Is that a welcomed first step toward accountability, in your view?

FMR.

STATE REP. KANIELA ING (D-HI): Well, there's a lot of finger-pointing right now from the state, the county, the utility and the colonial corporations that we all contributed to this mess.

So, I think what would be really welcome in terms of where the community is right now as we grieve and heal many of us have lost loved ones is just to take accountability internally first.

The fact is, the county had been negligent in making sure that the utility was up to standard.

They give them approval.

The public utility commission as well at the state level has been too close to the utility and not regulating them as they should.

And the fact remains, if -- if the water wasn't diverted from Lahaina by certain corporations and -- or the utility actually maintained the problem lines, or if the polluters didn't overheat our planet and made disasters like these more severe, the fire wouldn't have spread.

Like, any of these are -- any of these problems would -- if we solved them, would have prevented the fire in the first place.

So we're asking for accountability across the board and not just finger-pointing.

GEOFF BENNETT: Let's talk more about that, because you have written extensively about how climate change and overdevelopment are also to blame.

West Maui is no stranger to wildfires.

But how have the hot and dry conditions worsened over time?

FMR.

STATE REP. KANIELA ING: Sure.

Lahaina used to be a lush wetland.

You could actually take a boat around Waiola Church, the famous church that our ali'i, our chiefs are buried in.

And it was the birthing place of aquaculture.

There were fish ponds that we call local loko i'a throughout the community.

And it was at the turn of the 20th century the Big Five families, corporate oligarchs, actually diverted that water illegally to irrigate their stolen lands, the monocrop of sugar.

And that has resulted in generational -- generations of water disputes that haven't been resolved.

So, as we rebuild, we're looking at not just returning to the status quo, but returning the control of public trust resources like land and water back to the people of Lahaina to decide their own fate.

GEOFF BENNETT: It's still early days, obviously.

But how do you intend to do that?

How do you intend to make sure that, as you say, the people of Lahaina, indigenous Hawaiians are intimately involved in the rebuilding effort?

FMR.

STATE REP. KANIELA ING: Sure.

One thing that we called for that was met by the governor was a moratorium on land sales to out-of-state developers.

Right now, there are disaster capitalists, land grabbers hovering above the carnage like vultures.

There's BlackRock representatives now on Maui meeting with government officials.

But we know that this early stages of realtors calling families in their darkest moment is just the beginning.

The real fights will happen six months, even years down the line in the regulatory political and legislative arena.

So, as we do wellness checks, we're making sure that neighbors are talking to neighbors helping with insurance claims, helping with FEMA applications.

And we're organizing that now on the ground, because FEMA and Red Cross will come and go.

But we want to make sure that when the help leaves, we're actually empowered, not just helped to -- so, a year down the line, where 200 people are repairing a school and the same 200 people go and testify at city council the next day.

So, I have recently facilitated a meeting with a bunch of Lahaina leaders, and they have their eye not just on immediate relief, but long-term -- a long-term, just recovery and rebuilding that centers the people.

So we're trying to not just rebuild Lahaina, but set an example for the world of how to better empower communities as these disasters become more frequent.

GEOFF BENNETT: Kaniela Ing, are there enough emergency resources on the ground right now?

FMR.

STATE REP. KANIELA ING: Right now, it's not necessarily from the government or institutions.

That's part of it.

But the community has really stepped up to fill that gap.

So, right now, a lot of the survivors are taken care of, in terms of their basic needs, food, water and shelter.

But, as we look down the line, we know that the government subsidies for Airbnb rooms and hotels, for example, will only last a few weeks to a couple months.

And it's unclear where these people will be housed following that.

So we need to fill in the gaps and actually build housing or extend the subsidies,so that these temporary shelters don't become long-term camps.

We have seen it after Hurricane Sandy, Maria, Katrina, that there could be folks sleeping in tents even years down the line if we're not really proactive now.

So, unfortunately, some of the -- some of the funds that have absorbed a lot of the immediate relief money are holding on to their money for the longer term.

And it's unclear what's going to happen to that.

And because of their institutional connections that allow them to raise so much money, there's also a fear in the community that those are - - they will be calling on those institution connections that actually led us to this crisis to help rebuild.

And that's definitely not what the people want.

GEOFF BENNETT: Yes.

If my -- if I may ask, what have the last two weeks been like for you?

FMR.

STATE REP. KANIELA ING: It's been intense.

I have been -- I was lucky enough where my mom had an apartment on Front Street, and she just moved away a couple of months ago.

She almost signed the lease.

So my immediate -- my immediate family is safe.

But I have lost friends I have grown up with.

I think everyone in Maui is feeling that as well.

Before we think of anything, it's like, it's the people that really matter.

Lahaina is a historic place, but now's the time to really show up for folks.

And, unfortunately, they're not having the time to grieve and heal as they deserve because of these political fights and land grabs.

So I think it's -- we're just calling on people, if they want to support, to lend -- to donate, we have the MauiRecoveryFund.org, to not just - - not just for the short term, but in the long term, knowing it's going to take $6 billion minimally to rebuild.

And that money is most likely going to come from the government.

So the question is, who's -- who has access and who has the power to shape where those funds go?

So that's what we're working on right now.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, I'm deeply sorry for your personal loss.

Kaniela Ing, thank you for being with us this evening.

We appreciate it.

FMR.

STATE REP. KANIELA ING: Thanks so much.