CNN
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Officials in Maui County, Hawaii, have released a list of nearly 400 people who remain unaccounted for following devastating wildfires on the island this month.
The “validated list” contains 388 names and was put together by the FBI, a Thursday news release from the county said. It was released in an effort to help identify anyone on the list who has been accounted for, officials said.
The list marks a drop from the more than 1,000 people previously believed unaccounted for.
“The number of people who are unaccounted for, which has been ranging between, like, 800 and 1,200, that number is going to decrease very significantly today as the FBI works with all other agencies to unduplicate people that have been reported missing,” Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said in a social media post earlier Thursday.
At least 115 people are confirmed dead, officials have said, making it the deadliest wildfire disaster in the US in more than 100 years.
“We’re releasing this list of names today because we know that it will help with the investigation,” Police Chief John Pelletier said in the release. “We also know that once those names come out, it can and will cause pain for folks whose loved ones are listed. This is not an easy thing to do, but we want to make sure that we are doing everything we can to make this investigation as complete and thorough as possible.”
The grim search for those believed missing began shortly after wind-whipped flames tore through the island on August 8. Much of the western Maui community of Lahaina – once a lively economic and cultural hub – was decimated, with entire neighborhoods and businesses reduced to ash. Some residents were forced to jump into the ocean to survive as flames overtook the town.
Search crews, including cadaver dogs, have searched 100% of the single-story homes in the disaster area, Maui County officials said. They are now going through multi-story homes and commercial properties.