Rescue and recovery teams continue to comb through the ashes of Lahaina, Hawaii, for victims more than 10 weeks after wildfires devastated the island paradise. Photo by County of Maui/Facebook
The death toll in Maui’s wildfires increased by one on Saturday after police reported finding human remains among the ashes in Lahaina, raising the total number of dead to 99 weeks after wildfires ravaged the island.
The new adjustment to the overall death toll was made as the Maui Police Department on Friday issued its latest update of residents unaccounted for in the Aug. 8 disaster in Lahaina, Hawaii. It represented the first new fatality reported in nearly two weeks. Advertisement
The remains of the latest victim were recovered at the Old Lahaina Courthouse last week, KGMB-TV in Honolulu reported.
Earlier this week, the body of Michael Misaka, 61, of Lahaina, was identified, raising the official death toll to 98. That identification also reduced the number of unaccounted for to seven.
Recovery teams were still combing miles of smoldering ruins following the inferno that is now assessed as one of the costliest disasters in U.S. history. Thousands of homes and businesses were burned to the ground during the blaze, leaving a crush of residents homeless.
In September, Hawaii officials lowered the death toll from 115 to 97 following DNA identification through relatives. Advertisement
While there were still a handful of missing persons, only two of the deceased had yet to be identified.
