Death toll from Maui wildfire reaches 89, making it the deadliest in the US in more than 100 years

Destroyed buildings and homes in the aftermath of the wildfire in Lahaina, western Maui, Hawaii on August 11, 2023. Photo: AFP

A fire that swept through a picturesque town in Maui this week has killed at least 89 people, authorities said Saturday, making it the deadliest US wildfire of the past century.

The newly released figure surpassed the toll of the 2018 Camp Fire in northern California, which left 85 dead.

A century earlier, the 1918 Cloquet Fire broke out in drought-stricken northern Minnesota and raced through a number of rural communities, destroying thousands of homes and killing hundreds.

At least two other fires have been burning in Maui, with no fatalities reported thus far: in south Maui's Kihei area and in the mountainous, inland communities known as Upcountry.

A fourth broke out Friday evening in Kaanapali, a coastal community in West Maui north of Lahaina, but crews were able to extinguish it, authorities said. (AP)