President Biden and First Lady arrive in Maui
A California woman has been named as the first tourist to have died in the devastating Maui wildfires.
Officials identified 72-year-old Theresa Cook from Pollock Pines in northern California as among the victims of the deadly blaze in the historic Hawaiian town of Lahaina.
Some 115 deaths have been confirmed following the deadliest wildfire in more than a century in the United States. The unconfirmed list of missing people currently stands at 1,100 names.
Hawaiian officials also pleaded with relatives of those missing to come forward and give DNA samples, saying the low number provided so far threatens to hinder efforts to identify any remains discovered in the ashes.
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden met with first responders and survivors on Monday and promised that the federal government would be with them “for as long as it takes” to rebuild the community.
Survivors were also voicing fears of a potential wave of land grabs by realtors and investors that could push Hawaiian locals from the island.
