A leaked letter from the US Department of Homeland Security reveals that FEMA was asked by officials on the Hawaiian island of Maui to “pause on posting on social media and elsewhere new imagery of damage/disaster/debris starting now.”
The letter, revealed in a screenshot on X by Anthony Cabassa, was sent August 19, more than 10 days after the wildfires ripped through the town of Lahaina, officially killing more than 100, but leaving nearly 1,000 missing and unaccounted for.
The disaster footage from Lahaina shows a devastated community that once was home to 13,000. The area is flattened by fires, homes reduced to ash, and bodies, many likely charred beyond recognition, in the debris.