Search teams on Monday resumed the painstaking, dangerous task of picking through the ashes of Lahaina for more victims of the Maui wildfires, as officials warned the death toll of 96 - already the highest from any U.S. wildfire in more than a century - will rise in the coming days.
Nearly a week after the fast-moving fire leveled most of the historic resort town, hundreds of people remained unaccounted for. Residents were still unable to return to the site of the fire due to the risks posed by possible hot spots and toxic fumes.from an American wildfire since 1918, when 453 people died in the Cloquet Fire in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Loeffler, who lives in New Mexico but was planning to return to Lahaina permanently, said he was worried some residents would sell their properties and leave the island. "There are structures that are partially standing that engineers have to clear first to make sure it's safe for the search-and-rescue teams to go into," she said.A crowd-sourced database circulating on social media showed some 1,130 individuals listed as "not located" on a list of about 5,200 people as of Monday afternoon. The database includes names collected from "missing persons" notices posted at shelters as well as information submitted by loved ones.
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