Maui Wildfire Death Toll Reaches 93, Destroys 2,200 Structures, Considered Largest Natural Disaster in Hawaii

The wildfire in Maui has been burning for a week already. The blaze has since become the deadliest U.S. wildfire since 1918.

Maui Wildfire Death Toll, Destructions

There are already 93 reported casualties as a result of the wildfires in Maui, Hawaii. Due to this, the Maui wildfires are considered the most fatal in modern American history since 1918. It is the deadliest, surpassing the 85 lives lost in the 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California. There is no assurance that the number won't continue to increase over the coming days and weeks since the fire is still ongoing.

Hawaii Governor Josh Green has cautioned that while the search for the missing continues, the death toll could rise much more. According to Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen Jr., cadaver-sniffing dogs were sent in on Friday to help with the hunt for the deceased.

The last American wildfire to claim more lives was Minnesota's Cloquet Fire which raged for over four days and claimed 453 lives. However, the deadliest wildfire in U.S. history happened in 1871 - Wisconsin's Peshtigo fire - which claimed 1,152 lives.

Aside from the lives lost, over 2,200 buildings have also been burned or damaged due to the Maui wildfires. Green said the incident is likely the worst natural disaster Hawaii has ever seen since becoming a state in 1959, with anticipated damages of nearly $6 billion.

Maui's wildlife and plant life are another consideration. It is challenging to predict the entire extent of these wildfires' effects on Maui's environment. Furthermore, because humans are such integral components of the environment in Maui, whatever happens to it is expected to have negative impacts on the residents.

Multiple Wildfires in Maui

There have been at least two further fires in Maui, in the rugged interior settlements of Upcountry and the Kihei region of south Maui, although no fatalities have been recorded to date. Authorities said that a fourth fire broke out Friday night in Kaanapali, a seaside village in West Maui north of Lahaina, but personnel were able to put it out.

As of late Friday, the Lahaina fire was 85% controlled, the Pulehu/Kihei fire was 80% contained, and the Upcountry Maui fire was 50% contained. Firefighters were making headway, but the three major flames that started on Tuesday were still burning.

Another fire that forced evacuations in the West Maui neighborhood of Kaanapali on Friday night was fully extinguished within a few hours, according to officials, and the orders to evacuate were revoked.

On Saturday, the sky in Kihei was thick with the smell of smoke as the sun rose. Cars, trucks, and buses carrying supplies on the highway towards Lahaina, a historic town destroyed by the flames, disregarded warnings to stay off the median in an attempt to get around a traffic snarl ahead of a road blockage.

When residents were permitted to return to Lahaina on Friday, they saw burned remnants, destroyed homes and businesses, and a different environment, as well as the bodies of scores of their neighbors. However, authorities on Saturday were once more limiting entry to West Maui and issuing advisories to stay away from the area due to dangers like poisonous particles from smoldering areas.

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