Maui fires latest: Wildfires death toll climbs to 55 with 1,000 people still missing on Hawaii island

Around 1,000 people are still missing in the wildfires which have ravaged the Hawaiian island of Maui.

Hawaii Governor Josh Green revealed on Thursday evening that hundreds are still unaccounted for, as he warned that the Aloha State is headed for its deadliest disaster in state history.

Those unaccounted for are not presumed dead, he said, but have been left without communications and so their safety is unclear.

“Here’s the challenge: there’s no power, no internet, no phone, no radio. You compound some of that. So when we’re speaking to our officers, we need them to get a sat phone,” he said.

“There’s around 1,000 missing. It doesn’t mean that many have passed – I’m not saying that at all – but because we can’t contact them we can’t know.”

The governor admitted that “we don’t know” the true death toll.

The death toll from the devastating wildfires on the island of Maui, Hawaii, has now climbed to 55 – as officials warned that the loss of life is expected to rise further.

On Wednesday, Lahaina, Pulehu and Upcountry fire departments said that 36 people had died as a result of the fires.

Another 17 fatalities were confirmed at around midday on Thursday, taking the toll to 53 victims.

By Thursday night, another two people had been found dead taking the death toll to 55, Maui County confirmed.

The identity of the victims remains unknown.

Thousands of residents in Hawaii have been racing to escape their homes as deadly wildfires swept across the island of Maui, killing at least 53 people in one of the worst US wildfires in recent years.

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Authorities in Maui are still trying to locate and identify people who died in Lahaina when a wildfire raced through the historic town.

Maui Mayor Richard Bissen told a news conference: “People whose homes are not damaged 0 you can come home as soon as we have recovered those who have perished. Please allow us to complete this process.”

Meanwhile Maui Police Chief John Pelletier asked for patience, prayers and perseverance, adding that his officers are trained to catch “bad guys” and not to pull bodies from buildings.

Search and rescue teams from California and Washington state, which are trained in disaster skills including using dogs to find human remains, have been deployed to Maui to assist with the process, officials said.

Wildfires have sparked a frenzy of questions about how disasters, like this, can be prevented in the future.

Here’s everything we know about how the Hawaii wildfires started:

Maui residents who made desperate escapes from flames, some on foot, have asked why Hawaii’s famous emergency warning system didn’t alert them as fires raced toward their homes, in interviews at evacuation centers onThursday. Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that the warning sirens were triggered before a devastating wildfire killed at least 53 people and wiped out a historic town, officials confirmed.

There are around 400 sirens positioned around the islands, with Hawaii boasting the largest integrated outdoor all-hazard public safety warning system in the world.

Many of Lahaina’s survivors however said they didn’t hear any sirens and only realised they were in danger when they saw the flames. Thomas Leonard, a 70-year-old retired mailman from Lahaina, didn’t know about the fire until he smelled smoke. As power and mobile phone services had gone out, he was left with no real-time information about the danger.

He tried to leave in his Jeep, but had to abandon the vehicle and run to the shore when cars nearby began exploding. He hid behind a sea wall for hours, the wind blowing hot ash and cinders over him. Firefighters eventually arrived and escorted Leonard and other survivors through the flames to safety.

Thousands of residents in Hawaii have been racing to escape their homes as deadly wildfires swept across the island of Maui, killing at least 53 people in one of the worst US wildfires in recent years.

US senator Brian Schatz said the historic town of Lahaina, which dates back to the 1700s, is almost totally burnt to the ground, with the blaze leaving behind smoking piles of rubble where historic buildings stood.

“This is a deeply sombre day,” Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said. “The gravity of losing any life is tragic. As we grieve with their families, we offer prayers for comfort in this inconsolable time.”

Where are the current wildfires in Hawaii? Read here:

The wildfires in Hawaii damaging buildings and leading to evacuations are spurred on by heavy winds coming from Hurricane Dora off the islands’ coast.

The storm was moving west across the Pacific Ocean hundreds of miles south of Hawaii on Wednesday.

To the west of Maui, residents scarpered into the ocean to avoid the fires and smoke. County officials said they were rescued by the US Coast Guard.

Winds reached up to 45 miles an hour, with gusts of up to 60 mph, according to the National Weather Service. The agency told residents on social media to secure their property and to prepare for lost power and travel disruptions.