Fires
80 people now dead in US wildfire
At least 80 people were said to have died and many still missing in the Maui wildfires in the United States, making it the deadliest natural disaster in state history.
The blazes remain ongoing as of Saturday morning, with fire crews battling flare-ups overnight. Gov. Josh Green warned that the death toll would likely rise as search and rescue operations continue.
“This is gonna go down in history as one of the worst disasters ever in Hawaii, we’ve lost so much,” said Shane Dudoit, the deputy director of parks and recreation for Maui County, in an interview with “CBS Saturday Mornings.” A Federal Emergency Management Agency search and rescue team arrived Thursday night with two cadaver dogs, officials said Friday.
Reports stated that evacuations and an assessment of the destruction on Maui are ongoing. The Pacific Disaster Center and the Federal Emergency Management Agency released a fire damage estimate Saturday that estimates about 2,207 structures have been damaged or destroyed and about 2,170 acres of land burned.
The estimate said that about 86% of the damaged structures are homes, and about 4,500 people will need shelter.
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