Death Toll From Last Year's Maui Wildfire Rises to 102

The death toll from the deadliest US wildfire in over a century, which devastated the historic town of Lahaina on the Hawaiian island of Maui last year, has risen to 102, authorities said Monday. Claudette Heermance, 68, died in hospice care in Honolulu on March 28 of injuries suffered in the fire, the AP reports. The Maui Police Department announced the death, citing information from the Honolulu medical examiner's office. Heermance suffered burns on 20% of her body and her case was complicated by multiple other conditions, said Dr. Masahiko Kobayashi, the Honolulu medical examiner.

She was initially taken to Maui's hospital the day of the fire but was flown to Oahu the next day to be treated at the state's only burn unit. She entered hospice nearly four months later. Other causes of death included cardiovascular disease, end-stage renal disease, and pressure ulcers, said another official from the medical examiner's office. The Aug. 8 wildfire was already the deadliest to hit the United States in over a century. The flames tore through the historic town of Lahaina, incinerating some 3,000 buildings and displacing 12,000 residents. Officials confirmed the 101st death in February after identifying the body of a 76-year-old man who'd been missing since the fire, Maui Now reported at the time.

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