Fatalities from Maui wildfire reach 100 after death of woman, 78, injured in the disaster

HONOLULU (AP) — The death toll from the wildfire that devastated the historic Maui town of Lahaina last summer has risen to 100 after a 78-year-old woman injured in the disaster died last month, officials said Tuesday.

The victim was among those who had been flown to Oahu after the Aug. 8 wildfire, the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century, Maui police spokesperson Alana Pico said in an email.

The woman died Oct. 16, according to the Honolulu medical examiner’s office.

Authorities have identified 99 victims in a process that has proved long and complicated. Forensic experts and cadaver dogs sifted through ash searching for bodies that were possibly cremated, and authorities collected DNA samples from victims’ family members.

The youngest victim was 7 and the oldest was 97. Several were residents of a low-income senior apartment complex. Of the victims, 44 were 70 or older.