Hawaii Dem Sen. Hirono: 'A Period of Mourning and Loss'

Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, walked through Lahaina with FEMA on Saturday to see firsthand the extent of the loss, she told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday.

As she walked through the destroyed town, Hirono said she passed a line of charred cars by the ocean where it was clear to her the occupants had fled quickly — likely into the water.

"We are in a period of mourning and loss," Hirono said.

Hirono said the attorney general has launched a review into why there were not warning sirens alerting people to the danger and allowing them to flee before wildfires quickly consumed the town.

Hirono said the tragedy showed Hawaii has just as much of a wildfire threat as Western states and more attention needs to be paid to wildfire prevention on the island.

"There is not enough recognition that we are going to have to combat these kinds of wildfires," Hirono said.

Maui County has set the confirmed death toll at 93.

There were 2,200 structures destroyed or damaged just in West Maui, and 86% of those were residential buildings, Green said.

"The losses approach $6 billion in estimate," Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said, adding it would take "an incredible amount of time" to recover.

Green said officials will review policies and procedures to improve safety.

"People have asked why we are reviewing what’s going on and it's because the world has changed. A storm now can be a hurricane-fire or a fire-hurricane," he said. "That's what we experienced, that's why we're looking into these policies, to find out how we can best protect our people."

Green said he expects the death toll to rise. While walking down Front Street, he told reporters that some victims were positively identified Saturday.

"I had tears this morning," Green said, adding he was afraid of what he would see at the disaster site.

Operations were focusing on "the loss of life," he added.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it has been spray-painting cars and buildings on Front Street with an "X" to indicate they had received an initial check, but there could still be human remains inside. When crews complete another pass through, if they find remains, they will add the letters "HR."

As the death toll rises, it is unclear how morgues will accommodate the number of victims considering there is just one hospital and three mortuaries.

The fire is the deadliest in the U.S. since the 2018 Camp Fire in California, which killed at least 85 people and destroyed the town of Paradise.

Hundreds of people remain unaccounted for.