By: Ansha Kottapalli

Last week, the lively, historic resort town of Lahaina, Maui, was destroyed by one of America’s deadliest fires.

The death toll of 93 reported on Sunday morning confirmed that this was the worst wildfire the US has faced in over a century. The death toll is predicted to increase by at least 3x by Sunday night. The wildfire has completely destroyed many buildings and has melted many cars. Cadaver dogs are searching for more remains, so far only covering three percent of all the destroyed land.

Despite finding many bodies, it is extremely difficult to identify them, according to Pelletier, Maui’s Police Chief. Since almost all the bodies fall apart when picked up. Only two people have been identified so far.

Sixty-eight-year-old Franklin Trejos, identified on Monday, died while trying to help both his home and other people.

The fire is continuing to destroy many homes and buildings, raising concerns for people living in the area which have not yet been hit by the blaze. As the fire continues to spread, “officials vowed to examine the state’s emergency notification systems”(yahoonews). Many people have evacuated, and some were even forced out by swimming into the Pacific Ocean.

Although the cause of the fire has not yet been confirmed, it is suspected that the “power lines blown over by high winds helped to cause the destructive Lahaina wildfire”(CNN). It has been reported that 2,200 buildings were burned down, 86 percent of them being residential.