— It will increase significantly. In the next ten days, this number could double, he told CNN.
The devastation is widespread in Maui’s largest city Lahaina after the fires.
Green says rescue workers have been finding between 10 and 20 dead each day, but that only a small part of Lahaina has been searched so far.
About 1,300 people are still missing, although delays in restoring mobile phone networks have made it difficult for residents who fled the flames to report their whereabouts.
At least three fires broke out on Maui on the night of August 8. Winds from Hurricane Dora combined with a dry summer and large amounts of dry vegetation caused the fires to spread quickly.
By the afternoon of August 8, the fires had reached Lahaina, the island’s largest city with just under 12,000 inhabitants. It is also a popular tourist destination.
Hawaii has the world’s most comprehensive natural disaster alert system, but as the fire spread toward built-up areas, the sirens were silent. Communication with residents was limited to mobile phones, television and radio broadcasts at the same time that much of both the electricity and mobile networks were down.
In Lahaina, around 2,200 buildings have been destroyed, the absolute majority of which were residential.
The fires are the deadliest in the United States in over 100 years.