As death toll in Maui fire rises, here's how it compares to the deadliest fires in the US
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 Aug. 8.
The fire claimed at least 115 lives as it raged through the historic town of Lahaina, once the capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom. That makes it one of the nation's deadliest wildfires in history.
It is second only to a 1918 wildfire in Minnesota as the deadliest in the United States since 1900. Even among those 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 search for victims continues, Maui's police chief John Pelletier has pleaded with people to stay out of the burned areas out of respect for the bodies that have yet to be 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 30 wildfires across the U.S. have claimed five lives or more since 1900.
453 deaths – Cloquet, Minnesota, October 1918
At least 114 deaths – Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, August 2023
86 deaths – Great Fire of 1910, Montana, Idaho
85 deaths – Camp Fire, 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 that claimed a total of 16 lives.
Three other recorded deadly fires occurred before the advent of modern firefighting practices. In the Miramichi fire in 1825 in New Brunswick, Canada, 160 people died, according to the Western Fire Chiefs Association. In October 1871, more than 1,500 people died in the Peshtigo fire in Wisconsin, and an estimated 250 people died that same month in a series of fires in Michigan.
How many deaths in Maui fire?
The known death toll as of August 23 was 115, Maui County said, but search teams had not concluded their search of multi-story residential and commercial properties incinerated in the Lahaina wildfire. In the immediate aftermath of the fire, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said the toll could exceed 200.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Deaths in Maui fire make it one of the deadliest fires in history
