Wildfire roars through Hawaii’s historic Lahaina
The death toll from the Maui wildfires has now topped 100 with officials announcing that 106 victims had been located as of Monday night.
The grim figure – making the tragedy the deadliest wildfire in the US since 1918 – is expected to rise further as more than 1,000 people remain missing and only 32 percent of the scorched area of Lahaina has been searched.
Despite the high number of victims found, only five have been formally identified.
Robert Dyckman, 74, and Buddy Jantoc, 79, were publicly named on Monday while three others have been identified, but officials are waiting to notify their families before releasing the names.
Family members are urged to come forward with DNA samples to help locate and identify missing relatives.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has said that he and first lady Jill Biden “are going to travel to Hawaii as soon as we can” but does not want to “get in the way” of the “painstaking” rescue and recovery work.
Meanwhile, as residents of hard-hit Lahaina return home to survey the devastation, officials have issued dire warnings about contamination that could pose health risks for months to come.
