Maui wildfires deadliest in a century as death toll hits 89

The death toll from the Maui wildfires reached 89 on Saturday, making it the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century – and the total is likely to rise in coming days as search teams with cadaver dogs continue sifting through the ruins of Lahaina.

The scale of the damage came into sharper focus, four days after a fast-moving blaze leveled the historic resort town, obliterating buildings and melting cars.

‘The Department of the Attorney-General will be conducting a comprehensive review of critical decision-making and standing policies leading up to, during, and after the wildfires on Maui and Hawaii islands this week,’ the office of Attorney-General Anne Lopez said in a statement.

The fires have become the deadliest natural disaster in Hawaii’s history, surpassing that of a tsunami that killed 61 people on the Big Island of Hawaii in 1960, a year after Hawaii joined the United States.

Fuelled by dry conditions, hot temperatures and strong winds from a passing hurricane, at least three wildfires erupted on Maui this week, racing through parched brush covering the island.

Maui County officials said in an online statement that firefighters continued to battle the blaze, which was not yet fully contained. Residents of Lahaina were being allowed to return home for the first time to assess the damage.

Source: Somali National News Agency