At a press conference on Monday evening, Hawaii's governor, Josh Green, said the scale of destruction was "incredible".
Hundreds of people were still missing, as firefighters continued battling flare-ups and rescue teams scoured the scorched remains of Lahaina. The rapidly moving fire, which was propelled by hurricane winds, spread "one mile every minute", said Green in an interview with CBS News.
"It's impossible to guess" what the final death toll would be, Green said, adding that officials expect to find between 10 and 20 people a day for the next week and half. "The fire was so hot... it's hard to recognise anybody," he said. Responders have been using DNA to identify remains.
The announcement and increased death toll came as residents of Lahaina were allowed back into the town for the first time.
This story is from the August 18, 2023 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
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This story is from the August 18, 2023 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
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