Officials increased the death toll from Maui's recent wildfires to 99, but identifying human remains is a slow process.
Officials in Hawaii increased the death toll from the ongoing wildfires on Maui to 99 late Monday, adding they have started the process of identifying bodies.
The search for those missing continues. Maui County officials said 25% of the burn area has been searched. Complicating things is that with the bodies being so badly burned, human remains have turned into ash. Gov. Josh Green said the state has secured 2,000 housing units for temporary shelter. The state has already placed 220 families into housing, he said. He expects some will need housing for at least 36 weeks.
"Nothing would make us more pleased if we couldn't go back in time and have a lot more protection from sirens," Green said."Typically when sirens go off, they are because we're worried a large storm is going to come and people historically would immediately go up country if they heard a siren. And typically the communication is by cell phone and on television.
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