The death toll in Maui has now reached 93 as a wildfire has continued to blaze across the island, destroying historic areas. Now, authorities shared that the effort to find and identify the dead is ongoing.
Officials have deemed the wildfire the deadliest the nation has seen in over a century.
John Pelletier, the Maui Police Chief, shared during a press conference that crews and cadaver dogs have only covered 3% of the search area so far.
“We’ve got an area that we have to contain that is at least 5 square miles, and it is full of our loved ones,” Pelletier shared.
Officials are expecting the death toll to grow as search efforts continue, and Pelletier shared that “none of us really know the size of it yet.”
“It will certainly be the worst natural disaster that Hawaii ever faced,” Hawaii Gov. Josh Green remarked Saturday as he toured the devastation on historic Front Street.
Pelletier noted that the identifying part of their efforts has been extremely challenging because “we pick up the remains and they fall apart … When we find our family and our friends, the remains that we’re finding is through a fire that melted metal.”
So far, only two people have been identified.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration for Hawaii following the devastating wildfires, and the White House shared that Biden has “ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by wildfires.”
Assistance will include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover property losses that are not insured, and more.
“President Biden confirmed he signed a Major Disaster Declaration for Hawaii that will deliver additional federal resources and support on top of the actions already underway by FEMA, the National Guard, the U.S. Coast Guard, and other federal agencies to support the emergency response,” a statement added.
Green shared that at least 2,200 buildings were damaged or destroyed in West Maui, 86% of which were residential. Altogether the economic impact of the fire cost an estimated $6 billion, Green shared, adding that it will take “an incredible amount of time” to recover.
Green says that they are currently focused on supporting those who have been displaced and who are still living.
“We can only wait and support those who are living,” Green said. “Our focus now is to reunite people when we can and get them housing and get them health care, and then turn to rebuilding.”
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