Hawaii wildfire death toll expected to continue rising

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Nearly 100 people have been confirmed dead in the wildfires that have ravaged Hawaii over the past week, with dozens more expected to die as the fallout from the disaster hits economies and major utilities in states across the United States.

The official death toll rose to 96 Monday morning in what has become the deadliest natural disaster in state history and the most destructive U.S. wildfire event in more than a century. That number is set to rise as searchers and body dogs continue to scour the ruins of burned buildings.

“We’re already prepared for a lot of tragic stories,” Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said in an interview. cbs morning show airs Monday.

“They might find 10 or 20 people a day until they’re done. And it might take 10 days. No guessing, really.”

The fire started last Tuesday and engulfed Lahaina in western Maui. More than 2,200 structures were destroyed in the town, with an estimated $5.5 billion in damage, according to a report released over the weekend by the Pacific Disaster Center and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The overall economic cost due to property damage could be as high as $7 billion, according to a study released Monday by Moody’s Analytics. Moody’s analysts Adam Kamins and Katie Nied wrote: “Considering the size of Maui, this price is simply astronomical, because the annual production value is about 10 billion US dollars. .”

Maui officials said Monday that the Lahaina Fire is now 85 percent contained. Other smaller outbreaks on the island have also been gradually brought under control or eliminated.

U.S. President Joe Biden last week declared a major disaster in the state and ordered federal aid to support affected areas.

Share price line chart (USD) shows Hawaiian Electric stock plummeting after wildfires

“As the residents of Hawaii mourn the loss of life and destruction of their beautiful homeland, we mourn with them,” Biden wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday. Prayers and every asset we have will be given to them.”

Officials told tourists to stay away from Maui, Hawaii’s second-largest island and popular holiday destination. About 46,000 people have left Kahului since Wednesday, the Hawaii Tourism Authority said over the weekend.

Shares of Hawaiian Electric, the state’s main electricity provider, closed down 34% on Monday after a lawsuit filed over the weekend accused the company of “inexcusably keeping power lines energized in anticipation of high fire danger.”

Morningstar analyst Andrew Bischof said market reaction was the company’s “prime near-term concern” as it grapples with the fallout.

The state’s attorney general has been tasked with conducting a comprehensive review of pre-fire and fire response measures.

Hurricane Dora swept hundreds of miles south of the island, bringing strong winds that fueled the fire. The disaster in Hawaii came during a period of unusually high wildfire activity in the Canadian summer, with authorities saying July was the hottest month on record globally.

The number of unaccounted for remains above 1,000, but has declined in recent days after temporary mobile hotspots were set up to boost capacity.

“When we temporarily set up some mobile phone capacity, people would call each other, so the number of missing people went from 2,000 to 1,300,” Green said.