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9:15 p.m.

The death toll from the Lahaina fire is now 55, Maui County reported this evening.

As of Wednesday evening there were 36 fatalities. The county reported 19 additional fatalties today.

Starting Friday, radio stations on Maui will air Maui County updates on the Lahaina fire at 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m.

Radio updates will supplement information posted on the county’s website, Facebook and Instagram pages, the county said in a news release this evening.

Maui radio stations include the following:

>> Pacific Media Group on KPOA FM 92.9 (west side) / FM 93.5; KJKS FM 99.3 (west side) / FM 99.9 FM; KJMD FM 107.1 (west side) / FM 98.3; KHLI FM 101.7 (west side) / FM 92.5; KMVI AM 900 / FM 102.5; and KNUI AM 550 / FM 106.1

>> KAOI Radio Group on 1110 AM / 96.7 FM

>> KPMW FM 105.5

>> Akaku’s KAKU 88.5

6 p.m.

Four public school campuses in Lahaina will remain closed through next week Friday, according to a news release from the Hawaii Department of Education.

Lahainaluna High, Lahaina Intermediate, Princess Nahi‘ena‘ena Elementary and King Kamehameha III Elementary schools will be closed until Aug. 18.

“While the Department is working to solidify next steps for what school operations will look like for West Maui, we are also making sure all students, staff and families are accounted for. The extended closures are also aimed at allowing students, families and staff to care for themselves and loved ones and start to reestablish their bearings during this stressful and devastating time,” according to a statement.

Officials said damage assessments are underway at the four campuses, but King Kamehameha III Elementary on Front Street was confirmed to have severe fire and structural damage.

Reopening plans for all other Maui public schools will be determined Friday.

“Schools in Upcountry, South and Central Maui will have phased reopening plans to first bring back staff, followed by students. This will give school teams time to assess damage and capacity to welcome students back safely,” officials said in a statement.

5 p.m.

Maui Police Chief John Pelletier today asked for residents’ patience in re-entering devastated Lahaina so that authorities could respectfully search for and remove even more fatalities.

“Understand this: Lahaina Town is hollowed sacred ground right now because our iwi are in that ground,” Pelletier said at an afternoon news conference on Maui. “We have to get them out. We will get them out as as fast as we can. But I need your patience while we do this.”

Asked about specifics on which parts of Lahaina were spared, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen, Jr. said “all of it” was gone.

Pressed by reporters for exact streets, along with the current number of fatalities, Pelletier later returned to the podium in the Maui County building and insisted that the current number remains at 53.

“We’re going to take our time and do it right,” he said. “When the mayor said it’s gone, it’s all gone. It’s gone.”

2:55 p.m.

Gov. Josh Green issued a fourth emergency proclamation related to the wildfires whipped through Maui and Hawaii island this week, killing at least 53 people and destroying and estimated 1,700 buildings on the Valley Isle.

The governor’s office says the latest proclamation will help “facilitate response, recovery, and rebuilding for West Maui” and “allow for provision of healthcare services by out-of-state doctors, nurses, and respiratory therapists, so they can practice on the Island of Maui during the emergency period.”

In other wildfire-related developments:

>> The Honolulu Fire Department said it will deploy 40 personnel to Maui to aid ongoing operations, including firefighters, incident management team members, and search-and-rescue specialists.

>> And the FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell is scheduled to travel to Hawaii to meet with state and local officials regarding ongoing response and recovery efforts, the federal agency announced.

1:15 p.m.

Maui County officials raised the confirmed fatality count from Tuesday’s out-of-control wildfires to 53, an increase of 17 from Wednesday, and Gov. Josh Green expects that number to keep climbing.

The county provided no other details but Green told CNN earlier that the death toll will go up “very significantly” from the Wednesday estimate of 36 as search-and-rescue crews reach areas that were previously inaccessible.

Speaking via phone as he viewed the devastation on Front Street in Lahaina just after noon, Green said he expects the death toll to eventually “significantly exceed” the 61 deaths from the 1960 tsunami that struck the islands.

Green also said the estimate of buildings destroyed on Maui is “upwards of 1,700,” sharply higher than the initial estimate Wednesday of 271. He said that about 11,000 people in West Maui were still without power.

He described what he was seeing in Lahaina as “total devastation,” estimating that about 80% of the town was destroyed, with hundreds of families displaced. He added that the damage to property will be in the “billions of dollars,” he said.

Green thanked President Joe Biden for swiftly approving the state’s request for a disaster declaration today, and that he expects federal aid to start flowing into the state in days. And he praised the on-the-ground assistance already being provided by FEMA on Maui.

The governor, Sen. Brian Schatz, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen are planning a 3:30 p.m. news conference, which will be livestreamed on Facebook and on staradvertiser.com, to provide updates on the disaster and recovery efforts.

11:30 a.m.

Maui County officials reported that the Lahaina wildfire is 80% contained this morning.

In Lahaina, firefighting crews were able to further secure the perimeter of areas that burned.

But entry into Lahaina remains restricted, according to the Maui Police Department, as dedicated teams, including Maui Search and Rescue, work in the area, and due to biohazard and safety concerns.

County workers are also clearing roads and other areas of trees and debris.

Authorities are stopping Lahaina-bound vehicles on Honoapiilani Highway at Maalaea. The highway is open for traffic leaving West Maui.

Motorists can also leave West Maui through Waihee, officials said. Only Kahakuloa residents may access the village through Waihee.

Also, Lahaina remains without power.

The Pulehu fire mauka of Kihei is reported to be 70% contained this morning, according to officials, after heavy equipment was used to create firebreaks through the night.

Firefighters continue to secure the perimeter for that fire this morning.

No containment percentage for the Upcountry fire is yet available, pending further assessment this morning.

Firefighting efforts focused on two main areas of Olinda and Upper Kula, where crews continue to protect structures and extinguish smoldering hot spots.

9:45 a.m.

State senators representing Maui have organized a two-day donation drive at Hawaii state Capitol starting today in response to the ongoing wildfire disasters, according to a Senate news release.

State Sens. Angus McKelvey, Gilbert Keith-Agaran and Lynn DeCoite have organized the “Maui Fire Relief Donation Drop-Off” between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today and Friday.

Donations can either be dropped off near the Father Damien statue in front of the Capitol or at the Capitol parking lot off Miller Street.

The drive is accepting toiletries, diapers, formula, toys, clothing, bedding, household goods and non-perishable food. Bottled water donations are discouraged.

7:30 a.m.

President Joe Biden today approved a presidential disaster declaration for Hawaii that will bring “significant relief” to communities on Maui and the Big Island affected by this week’s wildfires.

“Recovering from these devastating fires will take significant time and resources, and we need all the federal support we can get,” U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz said in a statement announcing the declaration. “I thank the Biden administration for moving fast to approve this disaster declaration. It will unlock federal resources and help our state and county governments respond to and recover from these fires and help the people of Maui and Hawaii island.”

RELATED COVERAGE

>> Lahaina’s historic and cultural treasures go up in smoke

>> Fast-moving blaze in Lahaina kills 36 and leaves devastation in its wake

>> Lahaina residents escape flames and smoke, but trauma lingers

>> Disaster could be lasting setback for economy

>> Maui surveys the burned wreckage caused by deadly wildfire

Biden spoke by phone today with Gov Josh Green, who returned to the islands overnight after coming back early from a personal trip.

The president “expressed his deep condolences for the lives lost and vast destruction of land and property,” the White House said in a statement this morning.

Biden confirmed he signed a “Major Disaster Declaration” for Hawaii that will deliver additional federal resources and support on top of the actions already underway by FEMA, the National Guard, the U.S. Coast Guard, and other federal agencies, the statement said.

Green’s office said the declaration makes federal funding available to affected individuals on Maui, including grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, as well as other programs to help individuals and business owners recover.

Federal funding also will be available to state and eligible county governments, and certain private, nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis, for debris removal and emergency protective measures in Maui County, the governor’s office said. Assistance for emergency protective measures for Hawaii County also will be available.

“In the coming days — as more and more details emerge — I ask that we as a state provide all the emotional and financial support we can to the people of Lahaina and Maui,” the governor said in a statement.

Green, who will visit Maui today to survey the damage, ordered that the U.S and state flags be flown at half-staff at the State Capitol, all state offices and agencies, and Hawaii National Guard facilities, effective immediately, to mourn those killed in the Maui fires.

There have been 36 confirmed deaths from the fires that exploded across Maui on Tuesday, and officials fear the toll will grow as search-and-rescue efforts continue. The Associated Press said the death toll makes the Valley Isle wildfires the deadliest U.S. blaze since the 2018 Camp Fire in California, which killed at least 85 people and destroyed the town of Paradise.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE

Joint federal, state and county search-and-rescue efforts resume today on Maui as the island’s residents try to recover from the massive, fast-moving wildfires Tuesday that killed at least 36 people, destroyed the historic town of Lahaina and left large swaths of the Valley Isle looking like a war zone.

County officials this morning will resume evacuating hundreds of visitors off the island so they can focus on helping residents recover.

They plan to continue mass bus evacuations from West Maui for residents and visitors in West Maui, starting at 8:30 am. with boarding at Whalers Village entryway fronting Kaaanapali Parkway. Visitors will be taken directly to the Kahului Airport, and residents will be able to go to shelters.

The county opened two additional emergency evacuation shelters Wednesday night, at King’s Cathedral Maui at 777 Maui Veteran’s Highway in Kahului and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 1300 Maui Lani Parkway in Kahului. Evacuees are reminded that emergency shelters do not provide bedding, toiletries and personal care items, and pet owners need to have pets properly restrained.

Late Wednesday night, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen Jr.’s office said the death toll from the fires was now 36, up from the six reported earlier in the day. In addition, dozens more suffered burn, smoke-inhalation and other injuries, including several who were transported to Oahu hospitals.

In addition to the casualties, flyovers on Wednesday revealed much of the destruction, including a preliminary estimate that 271 homes and structures have been destroyed or heavily damaged.

In historic Lahaina town, those structures include most of Front Street, the 200-year-old Waiola Church, Maria Lanakila Catholic Church, the Pioneer Inn, thee Old Lahaina Courthouse, and the Baldwin Home Museum. The town’s iconic banyan tree was still standing but also severely damaged.

Tourists were advised to evacuate, and about 11,000 visitors flew out of Maui Wednesday, with at least another 1,500 expected to leave Thursday, according to Ed Sniffen, state transportation director. Officials prepared the Hawaii Convention Center to take in the thousands who have been displaced.

As of Wednesday night, a few dozen evacuees were the first arrivals at the Honolulu center.

Bissen said the island had “been tested like never before in our lifetime.”

“We are grieving with each other during this inconsolable time,” he said in a recorded statement released overnight. “In the days ahead, we will be stronger as a ‘kaiaulu,’ or community, as we rebuild with resilience and aloha.”

As winds eased somewhat on Maui on Wednesday, pilots were able to view the full scope of the devastation. Aerial video from Lahaina showed dozens of homes and businesses razed, including on Front Street, where tourists once gathered to shop and dine. Smoking heaps of rubble lay piled high next to the waterfront, boats in the harbor were scorched, and gray smoke hovered over the leafless skeletons of charred trees.

“It’s horrifying. I’ve flown here 52 years and I’ve never seen anything come close to that,” said Richard Olsten, a helicopter pilot for a tour company. “We had tears in our eyes.”

About 14,500 customers in Maui were without power early Wednesday. With cell service and phone lines down in some areas, many people were struggling to check in with friends and family members living near the wildfires.

All public schools, except Hana High & Elementary, are closed through Friday.

In addition to the two new shelters, other open shelters are the Mayor Hannibal Tavares Community Center, the Maui High School Gym, and the War Memorial Gym, which is also a donation site. Anyone wishing to donate can bring non-perishable food, bottled water, hygiene items and blankets to War Memorial. Those wishing to donate should enter the complex through Kanaloa Avenue and drop off donations at the field on the left. The dropoff center will be open today from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The public can also make monetary donations to the Maui Strong Fund at Hawai‘i Community Foundation at hawaiicommunityfoundation.org/maui-strong. Checks also can be mailed to the Maui Strong fund. Checks should be written to “Hawai‘i Community Foundation,” with “Maui Strong Fund” in the memo section. Mail to: Hawai‘i Community Foundation, 827 Fort Street Mall, Honolulu, HI 96813.

Some other established nonprofits and agencies receiving donations of money, resources and volunteer hours include:

>> Aloha United Way: AUW said its 211 information and referral line is working closely with Maui and Hawaii island organizations to provide updates and information, and to answer questions when possible. The service is available statewide and can also be accessed via email or chat. John L. Fink, president and CEO of Aloha United Way, said the group’s homepage, auw.org, lists a donation site for the Maui Fire Relief Fund and will send the money to Maui United Way, which will handle distribution over the coming months.

>> Hawaii Emergency Management Agency: The agency is accepting donations and volunteer support, state Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara said during a state and county news conference Wednesday. Hara, who is overall incident commander for the wildfires, recommended that people who want to help go to ready.hawaii.gov or call 808-733-4300.

>> Maui County: People on Maui who want to donate or volunteer can call 808-270-7285. Names and contacts are being compiled so that resources can be deployed over time.

>> American Red Cross of Hawaii: Money and volunteers are needed at red cross.org/hawaii, said Matthew Wells, regional communications director. The Red Cross is not set up to accept physical donations such as clothes or bedding, he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.