Death toll from Hawaii wildfires up to 110

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from the Maui wildfires in the U.S. state of Hawaii reached 110 on Wednesday, Hawaii governor Josh Green said.

"Every day we are a little bit more heartbroken because we do have to report that more of our loved ones have been confirmed lost and deceased," said Green at a press conference.

The governor added that about 38 percent of the burned area has been searched.

Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said on Tuesday that he hopes searchers will have covered 85 to 90 percent of the area by the weekend.

The death toll was up from 106 a day before. The wildfire, which destroyed the historic town of Lahaina on Maui, is already the deadliest in more than a century in modern U.S. history.

About 2,000 customers remained without electricity in affected areas on the island, said the governor.

The White House said in a statement on Wednesday that U.S. President Joe Biden will travel to Maui on Monday "to meet with first responders, survivors, as well as federal, state, and local officials, in the wake of deadly wildfires on the island."

"I remain committed to delivering everything the people of Hawaii need as they recover from this disaster," said the president on X, formerly known as Twitter.