Officials report that 80 people have now been confirmed dead as a result of wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui.
In what is now the worst natural disaster to hit a US state, there are worries that the numbers will continue to grow.
Firefighters have been battling fires in a number of locations, including the historic town of Lahaina, which has been completely destroyed.
A “comprehensive review” of how the authorities handled the wildfires has been announced by Hawaii‘s attorney general.
It occurs as concerns over whether officials notified people quickly enough grow.
For the first time since flames quickly rushed through early this week, razing most of the coastal town’s rich heritage and two million visitors annually, state officials reopened Lahaina to those with proof of residency on Friday.
Cars were backed up bumper to bumper on the Honoapiilani Highway, one of the only accessible ways to Lahaina, with people standing next to trucks crammed full of supplies including water, petrol, diapers, and toilet paper.
But shortly after it was opened, all traffic on the route save for emergency vehicles was stopped.
Police were called in to deal with a “situation,” authorities informed the BBC, although they declined to provide further details.
Even though police did not confirm it, evacuated Lahaina homeowners later claimed they thought their homes had been looted.
Families remained in a mile-long queue for hours after the closure.
Residents would encounter “destruction like they’ve never seen in their lives,” Governor Josh Green had already warned.
And for many of the Lahaina refugees, the damage still waiting is too much to bear.
The Tacderan family’s 23 stranded members gathered with family in Paukukalo, a coastal area east of Lahaina, to assess the damage.
One of them, Bryan Aguiran, 26, stayed in Lahaina for the duration of the fire’s deadliest parts, dousing the flames with big buckets of water and miraculously saved his family’s home.
But he is unwilling to return.
He added that he hasn’t been able to sleep and that every time he closed his eyes, Armageddon appeared.
“Lahaina will never be the same,” he declared.
Like many other Maui locals, he expressed concern about how much higher the death toll will go.
These worries were heightened on Friday night when residents of Kaanapali, which is located north of Lahaina, were told to leave because a fire had broken out near a fueling station that had been built up. In about two hours, Maui, it was under control. Maui official added
Lahaina and Kaanapali in West Maui are still without water and electricity. In the area, search teams are still seeking for wildfire casualties.
In the water is included. According to the Coast Guard, 17 individuals have so far been recovered alive from the water close to the harbour of the town. Everybody was said to be in stable condition.
However, Gabe Lucy, a Maui-based tour guide, told the BBC that he was hearing horrifying stories.
“People were jumping in the water, and I think for a lot of them the fire wrapped around so quickly that the only way to escape was go down to the water’s edge,” said Mr. Lucy, whose boats were called in to help.
He continued by saying that they were “picking up four-year-olds and putting them on surfboards and pulling them out” and that he had heard tales of “bodies on the rocks”.
The damage brought on by wildfires on the island of Maui will take many years to heal, according to the authorities. In Lahaina alone, more than a thousand buildings have been destroyed.
For Maui’s residents, many of whom depend on the service employment provided by the tourism industry, the enormous destruction is a further source of stress.
On Friday, Governor Josh Green forewarned Hawaiians that what they discovered in Lahaina would be challenging.
“Lahaina is a severely damaged area. The governor, who paid a visit to the town on Thursday, warned that they will witness destruction unlike anything they had ever seen. “Be very careful and safe.”
On Maui, there are currently six shelters for those who have been displaced, and officials have stated that they are creating a plan to accommodate them in hotels and vacation rentals.
Donations have been pouring in lately.
Many affluent people, including Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, reside on the island. To aid the fire victims, he and his partner Lauren Sanchez have contributed $100 million (£79 million).
Tuesday night saw the start of wildfires on the Big Island and Maui islands of Hawaii. Although the reason is still unknown, after the fire started, hurricane gusts and dry weather contributed to its spread.