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Reuters
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Lahaina, once Hawaii's royal capital, is now a crematorium.
"We pick up remains and they fall apart," said Maui County police chief John Pelletier on Saturday, four days after a massive wildfire tore downhill through dry brush and grass and engulfed the island's western edge.
Close to 100 deaths have been confirmed, making the Lahaina wildfires the deadliest in the US in more than a century.
But just 3% of Lahaina's charred ruins have been searched so far, stoking fears that the death toll will continue its sharp climb.
"None of us really know the size of it yet," chief Pelletier warned, growing visibly emotional.
Dozens of survivors shared their stories of escape and loss with the BBC, helping to piece together a more complete picture of the tragedy that unfolded on Tuesday, when fires moving at a mile per minute consumed the town.