The death toll from a wildfire that razed a historic Maui town reached 93 late Saturday night as Hawaii authorities warn the effort to find and identify the dead was still in its early stages and the public should brace for more losses.
The blaze is already the deadliest U.S. wildfire for over a century as more evacuations are underway in the western area of Kaanapali.
The already revised death toll could rise “significantly” Hawaii Governor Josh Green warned as forensic work continues to identify the victims.
A man sits on the Lahaina historic banyan tree damaged by a wildfire on Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
A resident uses a garden hose to put out hot spots after his home was destroyed by wildfire on August 12, 2023 in Kula, Hawaii. (Justin Sullivan/Getty)
Burned cars, destroyed buildings and homes are pictured in the aftermath of a wildfire in Lahaina, western Maui, Hawaii on August 11, 2023.(PAULA RAMON/AFP via Getty Images)
Lahaina seafront littered with burned cars alongside smoldering and destroyed buildings in the aftermath of one of the deadliest disasters in the U.S. state’s history. (PAULA RAMON/AFP via Getty Images)
Anthony M. La Puente, 44, recovers items from his house in the aftermath of a wildfire in Lahaina, western Maui, Hawaii on August 11, 2023. (PAULA RAMON/AFP via Getty Images)
Hundreds remain unaccounted for while still more fill shelters across Maui after fleeing the fast-moving flames and face the prospect of having no home to return to.
“It’s an impossible day,” Green said, AP reports.
The fire will “certainly be the worst natural disaster that Hawaii ever faced,” he added.
More than 2,200 structures were damaged or destroyed as the fire tore through Lahaina, according to official estimates, wreaking $5.5 billion in damage and leaving thousands homeless.
WATCH: National Guard Airlifts Equipment, Firefighters to Maui to Combat Raging Wildfires
“We can only wait and support those who are living. Our focus now is to reunite people when we can and get them housing and get them health care, and then turn to rebuilding.”
As Breitbart News reported, the new death toll came as federal emergency workers with axes and cadaver dogs picked through the aftermath of the blaze, marking the ruins of homes with a bright orange X for an initial search and HR when they found human remains.
Lahaina, a town of more than 12,000 and former home of the Hawaiian royal family, has been reduced to ruins with its lively hotels and restaurants reduced to ashes, AFP reports.
A banyan tree at the center of the community for 150 years has been scarred by the flames but still stands upright, its branches denuded and sooty trunk transformed into an awkward skeleton.
WATCH: Evacuations Continue as Death Toll Climbs from Apocalyptic Fires in Hawaii
Dogs worked the rubble, and their occasional bark — used to alert their handlers to a possible corpse — echoed over the hot and colorless landscape.
The inferno that swept through the centuries-old town of Lahaina on Maui’s west coast four days earlier torched hundreds of homes and turned a lush, tropical area into a moonscape of ash.
Follow Simon Kent on Twitter: Follow @SunSimonKent or e-mail to: skent@breitbart.com
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