LOS ANGELES, Calif. (KERO) — Several cadaver dogs from Southern California fire departments on Sunday were on their way to Maui to assist in the ongoing search for victims.
K-9 teams from the Los Angeles County Fire Department's Urban Search and Rescue and the Orange County Fire Authority were deployed to help. Several of the dogs and their handlers arrived at Los Angles International Airport on Sunday morning en route to Hawaii.
Authorities warned that the effort to find and identify the dead was still in its early stages. Crews with cadaver dogs already on site have covered just 3 percent of the search area.
"We're obviously familiar with the brush fires in California as well. But we've kind of been preparing for this for some time, for many years," explained L.A. County Fire Capt. Celina Serrano. "This is what we do. And so, these dogs have been waiting for their time to shine and to show support for the families out there, bringing some closure."
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Authorities say identifying the dead is challenging with only two people identified so far. At least 2,200 buildings were damaged or destroyed in West Maui, nearly all of them residential.
Across the island, the damage was estimated at close to $6 billion.
The wildfires are Hawaii's deadliest natural disaster in decades surpassing a 1960 tsunami that killed 61 people
