Whit Johnson with granted access by FEMA to Lahaina.
He starts us off live from Maui with the latest
Good Morning with
Michael Good morning. We got an up close look at
the hardest hit area of Lahaina as search crews comb
through the rubble.
It is a slow and delicate process and the death
toll continues to climb.
This morning, Maui's wildfire disaster now claiming at least
106 lives, 79 year old Lahaina musician Buddy Jan talk
among the first to be identified for him to be
taken from us that way.
I think that's what's the hardest to come to terms
with hundreds still unaccounted for as search teams continue their
painstaking work.
You can see the snapped power poles one after another
after another
for the first time, FEMA escorting us into the heart
of the devastation.
They're going through this area,
literally searching inch by inch.
20 search dogs now on the ground and 20 more
expected in the coming days.
Frank Taylor, who's managing one of the recovery teams,
feeling the gravity of the task beforehand.
When I go home, it might sink in a bit,
but no, I got. I got a job to do.
The scenes overwhelming vehicles left awkwardly in the street as
people dropped everything and ran for their lives.
I've covered a lot of natural disasters throughout the course
of my life,
but this is
it's like a bomb went off.
It's like a fire and a tornado and a hurricane
all combined
and just decimated this place.
And it's one thing to see the pictures,
but to see it in person,
it just hits you in a different way.
Iconic storefronts reduced to rubble.
Still smoldering boats in the harbor now charred skeletons,
life frozen in time. Is there anything you'd like to
say to the families?
We're here to put those families at ease
and we're going to do our very best to
find your loved ones.
Official saying at least 27%
of the burn area has been searched among the missing
79 year old Maurice Buen
and long time Lahaina resident.
I'm hoping that he got away.
You know in in some way
you know his brother Ernest and nephew Uluvehi Guerrero giving
DNA samples to assist authorities desperately waiting for news.
I find comfort in that
knowing that we can all share our grief
together. You find strength and resilience in this community exactly.
It is like no other place,
I can honestly say that.
And officials say more than 1000 responders are on the
ground here in Maui from across the globe.
More resources are on the way,
but they're calling for patience.
The recovery efforts they expect could take at least a
week.