NEW: The wildfires that have devastated Hawaii's Maui island are now the deadliest in modern U.S. history as the death toll reaches 89.
Flyovers by the Civil Air Patrol counted 1,692 structures destroyed — almost all of them residential. Nine boats sank in Lahaina Harbor, officials determined using sonar.
Fueled by a dry summer and strong winds from a passing hurricane, the wildfires on Maui raced through parched brush covering the island. Later in the day, search crews fanned out under the hot Maui sun in search of bodies, some with axes and tools to clear debris. Cadaver dogs took breaks in blue kiddie pools filled with water before going back to work. One dog searched a strip mall that was still standing, going business to business, while another walked down the street with its handler.
The wildfire is already projected to be the second-costliest disaster in Hawaii history, behind only Hurricane Iniki in 1992, according to disaster and risk modeling firm Karen Clark & Company.
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