The death toll from the devastating wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui has reached at least 93 as a new blaze triggered more evacuations.
About 1,500 people are still missing and officials believe the wildfires could end up being the deadliest disaster in the state’s history.
Governor Josh Green told reporters it had been “an impossible day” and warned that the death toll could rise further.
Sniffer dogs were used to search for the dead as residents were evacuated from the western area of Kaanapali as the flames swept closer.
The order to leave came on Friday night, just hours after residents of nearby Lahaina were allowed to briefly return to take stock of the devastation.
Search-and-rescue operations continued on Saturday and Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen Jr warned that the death toll was likely to rise further.
Many fire survivors said they did not hear sirens or receive a warning giving them enough time to prepare, only realising they were in danger when they saw flames or heard explosions.
Officials sent alerts to mobile phones, televisions and radio stations, but widespread power and cellular outages may have limited their reach.
Health officials are warning the burning areas are highly toxic and to wear masks and gloves.
They are also asking people to just text rather than call when using their mobile phones to protect the network.
The death toll made the inferno, which erupted on Tuesday, Hawaii‘s worst natural disaster, surpassing a tsunami that killed 61 people in 1960, a year after Hawaii became a US state.
The latest figure exceeded the 85 people who perished in a 2018 fire in the town of Paradise, California, and was the highest toll from a wildfire since 1918, when the Cloquet fire in Minnesota and Wisconsin claimed 453 lives.
