New York, 21 August 2023 (tca/dpa/MIA) — An estimated 850 people are still unaccounted for following devastating wildfires across Maui, the island's mayor said Sunday night.

The death toll from the blazes climbed to 114, as authorities said they’d searched 85% of the destroyed historic town of Lahaina.

Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen said the list of missing people once topped 2,000, but the FBI and local authorities had been working hard to locate and identify people.

"We are both saddened and relieved about these numbers as we continue the recovery process," Bissen said Sunday night in a Facebook video. "Through the tireless work of the FBI and Maui Police Department, over 1,285 individuals have been located safe."

The complete investigation and damage assessment of the fires is expected to take months, as one blaze essentially reduced the 12,000-person town of Lahaina to apocalyptic rubble.

US President Joe Biden planned to visit the island Monday, his first trip to Maui since the fires erupted August 8. Early investigations showed the fast-moving infernos may have been caused by downed power lines igniting dry grassy areas.

"Our whole town is gone. Our jobs are gone. Our house is gone. Our cars are gone and our whole community is just, I mean, it's the entire town," Lahaina resident Amanda Bratton told People magazine. "It's like, what do you do when you weren’t expecting your entire town, all the buildings and businesses and houses, to just be wiped out?"

Of the 114 people killed in the fire, 27 had been identified as of Sunday night, Mayor Bissen said. He also noted that when cellphone communication was restored, many people were able to locate their loved ones, which helped pare down the missing list.

The mayor also asked people to provide DNA samples in hopes of identifying possibly deceased relatives. A centre for such samples was set up at a Hyatt hotel on the island.

"Our lives have changed forever and things will not be the same," Bissen said. "What will be the same is the way we care for each as we grieve and go through this together."