The death toll from wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, has risen to 96, as relatives of the missing desperately search for a sign that their loved ones may still be alive and survivors try to come to grips with the scale of the devastation.

A few days after the inferno that destroyed most of the seaside town Lachena last Tuesday and Wednesday, teams of firefighters continued to try to put out blazes while dogs, trained to detect bodies, searched the city’s rubble for victims.

The death toll – given by local authorities late yesterday, Sunday (local time, this morning Greek time) – makes this fire the worst natural disaster in Hawaii, surpassing the tsunami that killed 61 people in 1960, a year after Hawaii became a US state. It’s also the most deaths from a U.S. fire since 1918, when 453 people died in wildfires in Minnesota and Wisconsin, according to data from the National Fire Protection Association.

Many of the survivors attended Sunday services in churches, including 38-year-old Akanesi Vaa, who said her family was stuck in traffic while trying to escape the flames. Baa, her husband and children, aged 15, 13 and 9, fled on foot and had to jump over a fence to save themselves. “I think many of us needed to hear the message of today’s service,” he declared as he left the church. “All these ashes will turn into something beautiful again. I’m sure Laheina will bounce back 10 times stronger.”

Residents have been searching unofficial directories posted online that include thousands of names of people who have been located, as well as those who remain missing.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green warned at a news conference Saturday that the death toll will continue to rise as more victims are discovered. Dogs trained to detect cadaver have covered just 3 percent of the search area, Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said.

Relatives and friends have taken to social media, asking for help in locating their own missing people. Hundreds remain unaccounted for, although the exact number is unclear.