Maui wildfires live updates: Bidens to visit Hawaiian island

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said Wednesday that many of those killed by the wildfires on Maui have been found near the ocean.

The death toll currently stands at 106, while 27% of the affected area “has been covered,” according to Green.

“Although many of the fatalities were on the road down by the sea,” the governor told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos in an interview Wednesday on “Good Morning America.”

“We have an enormous team on the ground,” he added.

There are 185 rescuers with 20 dogs in the “impact zone” going through each building and house, or what’s left of them. They are now “moving from initial phase of the recovery deep into the acute phase,” according to Green.

The governor told ABC News that the death toll “will increase,” but officials “hope” the figure won’t reach “further catastrophic proportions.”

“We just don’t know yet,” he said.

A road running east to west on Maui was reopened Wednesday night. From 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time, people can drive “freely” on that road across the island. The National Guard will be stationed alongside the road so members of the public can’t go into the affected area. From 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. local time, the road will be closed except for emergency drop-offs and local residents, according to Green.

“We have to be very careful not to disturb the scene so we can do the necessary recovery,” he said.

The governor told ABC News that he’s made “multiple trips” into the “impact zone.”

“This was a tragic combination of both a fire and a hurricane, which meant that, well, extremely high temperatures were traveling at 60 to 81 mph and it swept through, in some cases melting metal and granite and engine blocks — that’s how hot it was,” he said. “So it’s a very delicate scene. There are toxic metals and asbestos down there.”

Green expressed how “grateful” he and the rest of Hawaii is “for everyone’s outpouring of support.”

“Though the workload’s extraordinary and our hearts are broken, we will get through it,” he added. “We just are still kind of in the thick of doing recovery.”