Hawaiian Families Await News Of Loved Ones As Search Continues  

Search efforts have continued for more victims of the Maui wildfires, with the death toll reaching 96 and hundreds of people still unaccounted for.

Nearly a week after the fast-moving fire leveled most of the historic resort town on Tuesday, many residents were still unable to return to the site of the fire due to the risks posed by possible hot spots and toxic fumes.

Officials are warning through that identifying victims would be a grim and difficult task, given that the fire burned so intensely that metal structures had melted in the heat.

In a video posted on social media on Monday,Hawaii Governor Josh Green said at least 2,200 buildings were destroyed in the fire, 86% of them residential.

The intense and fast-moving blaze was the deadliest natural disaster in the state of Hawaii’s history and the toll of 96 is the largest number of deaths from an American wildfire since 1918, when 453 people died in the Cloquet Fire in Minnesota.

In the meantime, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell at a White House briefing on Monday said more cadaver dogs were on their way to Lahaina, but that the search was “extremely hazardous” and would take time.

Jeremy Greenberg, FEMA’s director of response operations, told reporters said more than 3,200 residents of Hawaii have registered to receive federal assistance, and that number is expected to rise.