The ongoing wildfires devastating parts of Hawaii’s Maui County have now claimed over 90 lives, making it one of the deadliest wildfire disasters in American history.
Authorities confirmed Saturday that 93 people have perished in the blazes that erupted August 8th near the towns of Lahaina and Kula. With only two victims identified so far, the Maui police chief urged residents to provide DNA samples to assist in identifying the many remaining missing.
The current death toll exceeds that of California’s 2018 Camp Fire, the nation’s deadliest wildfire in a century with 85 fatalities. It also surpasses the 87 deaths in the 1910 Great Fire across Idaho and Montana.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, the last higher death toll from a U.S. wildfire was in 1918 when 453 died in Minnesota’s Cloquet and Moose Lake fires.
While some containment has been achieved, officials say the recovery efforts will be long and challenging. Thousands have been evacuated, and the governor warned people to avoid hazardous debris and structures in the devastated communities.
With over 1,400 people sheltered and tens of thousands flown out, the economic impacts are also massive. Early estimates put property damage costs at $1.3 billion in Maui alone.
The unfolding catastrophe prompted federal emergency declarations to assist Hawaii residents. But the governor lamented the trauma experienced across the islands, vowing Maui will rebuild in time after the unprecedented disaster.
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