Sixty survivors of Maui’s devastating wildfires were rescued from a single house during the massive search operation.
The group, many of whom were previously unaccounted for, were found taking refuge in an isolated private residence where electricity and phone lines had failed.
Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen announced the miracle discovery before the death toll was revised to 106, with more than 1,000 people also still unaccounted for.
Authorities are now using the term ‘unaccounted for’ instead of missing because the lack of communications on the island has prevented some survivors from reaching out to loved ones to confirm they are alive.
‘We discovered yesterday that there was a family that was housing 60 people at a home… on the west side, and many of those folks were unaccounted for, and they’ve now been reunited with their families,’ Bissen said at a press conference on Monday.
Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen announced the miracle discovery before the death toll was revised to 106, with more than 1,000 people also still missing
The hall of historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission are engulfed in flames along Wainee Street
Bissen didn’t offer further details about the group which were found.
Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said the group had ‘no phones, no internet, no power’.
Exclusive DailyMail.com photos show how rescue efforts are still ongoing even as hopes fade that any will be found alive in the demolished town of Lahaina.
The pictures show cadaver dogs sniffing the wreckage of a burned-out parking lot, search and rescue crews combing the remains of a demolished warehouse and firemen sifting through the wreckage of a gas station.
The harrowing images also show how little has been left standing in the historic Maui town that was, until a week ago, home to over 12,000 people.
Tourist hotspot Front Street, which boasted charming wooden buildings and an ancient Banyan tree, is now littered with burned out cars while the town’s main business artery, the Honoapiilani Highway, is a wasteland of demolished businesses and wrecked vehicles.
Lahaina has been closed off to the outside world since fire ripped through it a week ago with just search crews allowed into the wreckage.
Cadaver dogs are seen sniffing through the wreckage of a burned-out parking lot in Lahaina, Maui, August 15. The destruction caused by the recent wildfire stretches into the distance
These exclusive DailyMail.com photos show how rescue efforts are still ongoing even as hope fades that any will be found alive in the demolished town
Recovery teams are seen in a huddle as efforts to find the 1,300 people still missing after the Lahaina fire last week swept through the town. The death toll stands at more than 100
Recovery crews are seen scouring through the wrecks of buildings and cars in Lahaina
At least 106 have died, among them Alabama native Carole Hartley, 61, who was killed while trying to outrun the inferno and local man Franklin Trejos, 68, who died trying to shield his roommate’s dog from the flames.
Other victims include four members of the same family: Faaso and Malui Fonua Tone, their daughter Salote Takafua and her son Tony.
All four were found in the burned out remains of their car – and died while attempting to escape the blaze.
On Tuesday, Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen said that just 25 per cent of the 2,200 burned buildings in Lahaina have been searched, although that is expected to hit 85 per cent by the weekend.
Speaking in a news conference late Monday, Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said the search had been hampered by windy conditions, as well as temperatures that topped 90 degrees Fahrenheit on Tuesday.
As a result, the 20 cadaver dogs drafted in to search Lahaina can only work in 15-minute bursts, while Chief Pelletier also said progress is slow due to the ‘reverence’ required for the search.
He added: ‘It’s not just ash on your clothing when you take it off. It’s our loved ones.’
A cadaver dog is seen leading search and rescue personnel through a parking lots that was destroyed in the Lahaina fire, that killed more than 100 people
Recovery teams are seen searching through a burned parking lot in Lahaina
Recovery teams are seen searching through a burned parking lot in Lahaina
Recovery teams are seen searching through a burned parking lot in Lahaina
A view from the coast shows burned-out cars on a main road. The destruction caused by the wildfire stretches into the distance
Forensic tents are seen set up in the parking lot of a gas station that miraculously remains standing amongst other buildings burned in the Lahaina fire
Investigation tents and other official vehicles are seen set up in Lahaina as efforts to continue to locate people missing, feared dead in the lethal fires
Recovery teams with cadaver dogs search areas destroyed by wildfire in Lahaina
Hawaii Governor Josh Green also warned of bodies among the debris, saying: ‘For those people who have walked into Lahaina because they really wanted to see, know that they’re very likely walking on iwi [bones].’
He also noted that some of the search areas ‘are too much to share or see from just a human perspective’ – likely to be a reference to the burned-out cars, many of which contain the bodies of Lahaina residents who had tried to flee.
The grim new photos come as President Biden finally spoke out on the tragedy on Tuesday evening after a week of silence except for a single ‘no comment’ when asked about the disaster over the weekend during his trip to Delaware Beach.
During a speech in Milwaukee, he confirmed that he plans to visit the stricken town once rescue operations are complete but appeared to confuse Maui with the neighboring Big Island.
Countering criticism that the Federal Government hasn’t done enough to help Maui, he said: ‘The Army helicopters helped fire suppression efforts on the Big Island because there’s still some burning on the Big Island — not the one that, not the one where you see on television all the time.’
Following the stumble, he added: ‘My wife Jill and I are going to travel to Hawaii as soon as we can.
Vehicles and officials are seen amongst cars destroyed in the Lahaina fires
Search and rescue crews are seen in a huddle in Lahaina next to a large, destroyed building
Recovery teams with cadaver dogs search areas destroyed by wildfire in Lahaina
Recovery workers are seen searching through the wrecks of cars and buildings as efforts to continue to find bodies of the victims of the fires
Search and rescue crews are seen in a huddle in Lahaina next to a large, destroyed building
Search and rescue crews are seen in a huddle in Lahaina next to a large, destroyed building
Search and rescue crews are seen in a huddle in Lahaina next to a large, destroyed building
Recovery teams with cadaver dogs search areas destroyed by wildfire in Lahaina
Ti leaves are left on the fence outside of the MPD Morgue Office, where bodies from the victims of the Lahaina wildfire are being held to be identified
A person looks out to sea at sunset in Kihei, Maui
‘That’s what I’ve been talking to the governor about. I don’t want to get in the way. I’ve been to too many disaster areas.
‘But I want to go make sure we got everything they need. Want to be sure we don’t disrupt the ongoing recovery efforts.’
Despite widespread criticism of his response to the Maui disaster, President Biden will travel West on Friday for a family vacation in California and Nevada’s spectacular Lake Tahoe.
The resort is also a short drive from Snowmass where former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and husband Paul own a vacation home.
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