The death toll on the Hawaiian island of Maui continues to rise with at least 106 people now confirmed to have died due to devastating wildfires. Crews continue searching through rubble as officials say just a few of those killed have been identified due to the nature of their remains.

President Joe Biden and the first lady will travel to the island Monday to survey the damage and meet with first responders and survivors. Almost 500 federal personnel were being sent to the area.

According to Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, close to a third of the overall search and rescue has been completed. He expects much of the burn area to be searched by this weekend, and a key road connecting all of Maui to reopen.

The wildfires have shocked residents and those with close ties to the island chain, including Lin Sakai, who was born and raised in Hawaii and now calls both upstate New York and the Hawaiian islands home.

Growing up in Hawaii was like paradise for Sakai.

“Growing up next to the beach, where you can go have a barbecue after school or go swimming after school, that sort of thing, and with family," Sakai said. "So they get that sense of family. Ohana, as we say in Hawaiian, made it very special.”

But life eventually took her to New York, where she spent her last 20 years living in New Paltz. Recently, however, she’s spent time traveling from New York to Hawaii and back again to care for her elderly mother.

This month, she’s in Oahu, as wildfires two islands away on Maui devastated the community of Lahaina, resulting in the deaths of over 100 people. More than 1,000 people are still missing, and there is an estimated $3.2 billion in damages.

Lin said she has friends in Lahaina, some of whom were barely spared from the fire, while others were not so lucky.

“One of her cousins lost her entire home, whereas another cousin had her house spared by just a couple of inches," Sakai said of some family friends. "Other friends that have been there were missing and now found family.”

But even in the wake of the tragedy, that sense of “ohana” and community has led to everyone to contribute in some way to the rebuilding process.

“Neighbors all came together to make spam musubi," she said. "Anybody who's local can appreciate, that's like our favorite island food. And so they were just overnight, they made hundreds of them and and then a boat to carried it over. So that's the kind of stuff that is happening. People are just being creative and doing whatever they can.”