Grim search continues for 1,300 missing in Maui

Maui continued its grim search Tuesday for around 1,300 still missing from the deadliest wildfire in US history, as officials have only been able to comb through about a quarter of the disaster zone now feared to be a partial graveyard.

The search continued as the death toll rose to 99 — a figure that could eventually double, officials have warned.

The operation has been hampered by ongoing treacherous conditions — as well as the “reverence” needed in an area assumed to be littered with the dead, Maui County Police Chief John Pelletier said.

“It’s not just ash on your clothing when you take it off. It’s our loved ones,” he said late Monday.

Gov. Josh Green have a similar grim reality check as he asked people to keep away from the disaster area, 

“For those people who have walked into Lahaina because they really wanted to see, know that they’re very likely walking on iwi,” he said, using the Hawaiian term for “bones.”

Some of the sites being searched “are too much to share or see from just a human perspective,” he said.

The conditions are even overwhelming for the 20 cadaver dogs helping 90 FEMA personnel search the scorched remains.

“The dogs can only work 15 minutes at a time and then they overheat,” Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen added, according to CBS News. “There are more fatalities that will come.”

While they have only managed to cover about 25% of the disaster area, officials hope to get through 85% to 90% by this weekend. “Patience. Prayers. Perseverance. That’s what we need,” Pelletier said.

That patience could be tested by stormy weather forecast for the weekend.

“I want the rain, ironically, but that’s why we’re racing right now to do all the recovery that we can, because winds or heavy rain in that disaster setting, which it’s showing right now, it will make it even harder to get the final determination of who we lost,” Green said.

The American Red Cross has had over 2,500 reports of people missing from the fire, and about 800 of those have been resolved, said Chris Young, senior director for operations and readiness.

That 1,300 matches the last figure given by Gov. Green on Sunday. However, officials have stressed that they are merely “unaccounted for,” blaming ongoing power and communications issues in the razed area.

“None of us think” they are all dead, Green has stressed throughout.

There have also been occasional bright spots — with rescuers finding 60 people on the list of those unaccounted for huddling safely in a single home without power or phones, Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen said.

So far, only a handful of the dead have been identified, with more expected to be revealed on Tuesday.

It is already known to include kids. “Tragically, yes,” Green said when asked by Hawaii News Now if children are among the dead. “When the bodies are smaller, we know it’s a child.”

Green earlier estimated that searchers will find “10 to 20 people” per day for at least the next 10 days, which would double the 99 so far confirmed.

“We are prepared for many tragic stories,” he said.

As the number of deceased grows, authorities are tasked with identifying the remains – most of which are burned beyond recognition and are so fragile they risk crumbling if moved.

Pelletier urged survivors to submit DNA samples to help expedite the process.

The initial identification of two fire victims via rapid DNA tests suggests that authorities have set up an emergency lab on the island, Dr. Michael Baden, the former chief medical examiner of New York and a forensics expert, told the Los Angeles Times.

Because wildfires burn so hot – sometimes reaching around 300 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit – regular collection methods like mouth swabs or soft tissue samples are ineffective, Baden explained.

For Maui victims, he continued, authorities can use dental records, X-rays, or even DNA extracted from drilling into thigh bones.

The use of approximate locations, such as the street or even specific address where remains were found, will also be crucial for identification, Baden added.

“To have that many bodies unaccounted for so quickly indicates that there will be lots of [remains to identify],” he said.

The Governor’s Office did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for an update on Tuesday.

In addition to the loss of life, the Maui fire destroyed about 2,200 buildings, 86 percent of which were residential, authorities said.

FEMA  Administrator Deanne Criswell described the aftermath of the fire as “like “a scene from an apocalyptic movie.”

Aerial photos of the once-picturesque island shows large swaths – including the historic hamlet of Lahaina, which was nearly entirely decimated by flames last Tuesday – reduced to ash and rubble.

That fire is 85 percent contained as of Monday, officials said. Another blaze known as the Upcountry fire is about 60 percent contained.

“We’re still on edge. We do not feel like we’re out of the woods yet. Like not at all,” Upcountry Aaron McVeigh told CBS News.

With Post wires