In one heartbreaking announcement after another, the loss of human life continues to climb in the wake of the devastating inferno that swept through Maui on August 8.
The fire claimed at least 110 lives as it raged burned though the historic town of Lahaina, once the capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Maui officials said Tuesday. That makes it one of the deadliest wildfires in history.
It is second only to a 1918 fire in Minnesota as the deadliest wildfire in the United States since 1900. Even among the deadliest wildfires in world history since 1900, on a list published by Statista, the Lahaina fire stands fifth.
The island’s death toll is expected to climb. As the grim search for victims continues, Maui’s police chief John Pelletier has pleaded with people to stay out of the burned over areas in respect for the bodies of those who haven’t yet been recovered.
No one agency keeps track of the nation’s deadliest wildfires. This unofficial list comes from fact sheets published by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, the U.S. Forest Service and the National Weather Service.
At least thirty wildfires across the U.S. have claimed at least five lives since 1900.
- 453 deaths – Cloquet, Minnesota, October 1918
- More than 100 deaths so far – Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, August 2023
- 86 deaths – Great Fire of 1910, Montana, Idaho
- 85 deaths – Camp, California, November 2018
- 38 deaths – Yacolt Burn, Washington, September 1902
- 29 deaths – Griffith Park, California, October 1933
- 25 deaths – Tunnel, Oakland Hills, California, October 1991
- 22 deaths – Tubbs California, October 2017
- 19 deaths – Yarnell Arizona, June 2013
- 15 deaths – North Complex, California, August 2020
- 15 deaths – Cedar California, October 2003
- 15 deaths – Rattlesnake California, July 1953
- 15 deaths – Blackwater Wyoming, August 1938
- 14 deaths – South Canyon, Colorado, July 1994
- 13 deaths – Mann Gulch, Helena Montana, August 1949
- 12 deaths – Loop California, November 1966
- 11 deaths – Hauser Creek California, October 1943
- 11 deaths – Inaja California, November 1956
- 10 deaths – Iron Alps Complex, California, August 2008
One other notable fire event in history was a series of fires across Maine in 1947. The fires claimed a total of 16 lives.
How many deaths in Maui fire?
The known death toll as of Wednesday morning was 106 dead, but search teams had only been through a portion of the area incinerated in the Lahaina wildfire. Hawaii Gov. Josh Green has said the toll could exceed 200.