Hawaii Governor Josh Green warns that ’10 to 20′ more wildfire victims in Lahaina will be found dead each day as only 3% of the search area has been searched — and says about 1,300 people are still missing

Hawaii Governor Josh Green has warned that hundreds more wildfire victims will be found in Lahaina as only 3 percent of the search area has been searched — and says about 1,300 people are still missing.

Green said he expects search teams to find “10 to 20” bodies a day in an operation that will take about 10 days.

The death toll currently stands at 96, but officials in Maui said Saturday that teams could have covered just 3 percent of the search area. The governor added on Sunday that about 1,300 people are still missing.

Many of the remains have been burned so badly that families have been invited to provide DNA swabs that could help identify the victims. Authorities established the Maui County Family Assistance Center to help collect samples.

“There will be more fatalities,” Green told CBS on Sunday. ‘The fire was so hot that what we find is the tragic find you can imagine… It’s hard to recognize anyone. But they can determine whether anyone has died.’

Hawaii Governor Josh Green, left, and Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen, Jr., speak during a tour of wildfire damage Saturday, August 12, 2023 in Lahaina

Hawaii Governor Josh Green, right, and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell look at a destroyed building along Front Street during a tour of wildfire damage Saturday, August 12, 2023 in Lahaina

Green, a doctor who treats survivors, said he had been to Lahaina twice and “there is nothing to see except complete devastation’.

“The buildings are almost non-existent. It was so hot that even metal shrank so you can’t believe what kind of building it was.

‘But that’s what you see, and it’s clear there won’t be any survivors left in the area. They either escaped and escaped that night and now that we’ve set up some temporary cell capacity, people are calling each other. So the number of missing went from 2000 to 1300.

‘Look, our hearts will break, irreparably perhaps, if so means more deaths. None of us think so, but we are prepared for many tragic stories.

“They’ll probably find 10 to 20 people a day until they’re done. And it’s probably going to take ten days. It’s actually impossible to guess.’

Authorities have not published an official list of missing persons, but a Maui resident, Ellie Erickson, has created an online spreadsheet that currently lists about 1,200 names as “not located.”

About 4,000 other names on the spreadsheet are listed as “found.”

Penny Wakida, a Lahaina resident, said her husband of 46, Clyde, died after staying in the home they built together 35 years ago in a desperate attempt to save it. She was contacted by officials to say they had found human remains on the property, the Honlulu Star Advertiser reported.

Twenty cadaver dogs and dozens of searchers are currently making their way through blocks reduced to ash. A member of the search and rescue team walks her cadaver dog near Front Street in Lahaina on Saturday, August 12, 2023

The historic city of Lahaina has been destroyed. The historic Banyan Tree has been burned and scarred, but is still standing

Destroyed buildings surround the area in the aftermath of the Lahaina fire on Front Street Thursday in handout photos provided by Hawaii Gov. Green

Penny’s daughter, Lexa Hanohano, and Clyde’s sisters, Avis Wakida and Teri Young, are among those who provided DNA samples to aid in remains identification.

“He didn’t want to evacuate,” Penny said. “He refused to go with me. He thought he could save the house. We know he’s dead.’

Twenty cadaver dogs and dozens of searchers are currently making their way through blocks in Lahaina that have been reduced to ashes.

“Right now they’re going street by street, block by block between cars, and soon they’ll be entering buildings,” Jeff Hickman, director of public affairs for the Hawaiian Defense Department, told NBC Monday.

The fire that engulfed ancient Lahaina nearly a week ago destroyed nearly every building in the city of 13,000, leaving a grid of gray rubble sandwiched between the blue ocean and the lush green slopes.

Flames from a wildfire burn in Kihei, Hawaii, Wednesday, August 9, 2023

The hall of the historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and the nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission go up in flames along Wainee Street on Tuesday, August 8, 2023

That fire is 85 percent under control, according to the province. Another blaze known as the Upcountry fire is 60 percent contained, officials said.

Green said he was frustrated after reports that the Maui’s emergency warning system, including sirens and cell phone alerts, reportedly failed to adequately notify residents that fires were rapidly engulfing Lahaina.

“We are heartbroken that people were unable to escape or were not warned. We are already working on a review. My attorney general, I asked her to do it. Not to find fault with anyone, but to say why this worked and this didn’t work,” he said.

“It’s definitely a natural disaster because the winds were moving — any fire between 60 and 80 miles per hour. That’s a mile a minute.’

He said the speed and ferocity of the fires meant “moving people” was the best hope of avoiding deaths.