US President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will travel to Hawaii to survey the devastation from deadly wildfires that destroyed much of the Maui resort town of Lahaina last week and killed at least 110 people.

President Biden will get a first-hand look on Monday at the damage and meet with first responders, survivors and federal, state and local officials, the White House said in a statement on Wednesday.

“I remain committed to delivering everything the people of Hawaii need as they recover from this disaster,” President Biden said in a post on the social media platform X, previously known as Twitter.

Hawaii Governor Josh Green warned the death toll could double.

The inferno spread rapidly from grasslands outside town into Lahaina last Tuesday, catching people by surprise and charring a 13 square-kilometre area of town in hours. The fire destroyed 2200 buildings and caused an estimated $US5.5 billion ($8.6 billion) in damage, officials said.

On Wednesday, President Biden approved Hawaii’s request that the federal government reimburse the full cost of 30 days of the emergency work expected to be carried out over the next four months, said Deanne Criswell, head of the US Federal Emergency Management Administration, during a news briefing at the White House.

The federal government so far has disbursed $US2.3 million ($3.6 million) in assistance to families, and approved more than 1300 registrations for assistance, Criswell said in Wednesday’s briefing.

Local officials on Wednesday reopened a main road through town for the first time in days, responding to frustration from locals. The highway, which bypasses the charred waterfront and town centre, was previously closed to all but residents of the surrounding area, first responders and people who work in local businesses.

Identification of the remains has been slow, in part because of the intensity of the fire. Maui County released the first two names on Tuesday: Robert Dyckman, 74, and Buddy Jantoc, 79, both of Lahaina. Three other individuals have been identified but their names have been withheld pending family notification. The other remains await identification, Maui County said.

The incongruous sight of tourists enjoying Maui’s tropical beaches while search-and-rescue teams trawl building ruins and waters for victims of the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century has outraged some residents.

The cause of the fire is yet to be determined and it remains under investigation. The New York Times, citing interviews and video evidence, reported the brush fire that spread into Lahaina started from a broken power line.

With more than 100 fatalities, the fire is one of the deadliest US wildfires in more than a century.

– AAP