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Biden says federal government will help Maui 'for as long as it takes' to recover from wildfire

Jun 21, 2023

LAHAINA, Hawaii, (AP) — President Joe Biden told survivors of Hawaii's wildfires that the nation “grieves with you” and promised that the federal government will help Maui “for as long as it takes” to recover after touring damage caused by the deadliest wildfire in the United States in more than a century.

Biden arrived in Maui on Monday, 13 days after the wildfires that have taken at least 114 lives ravaged the western part of the island.

“The country grieves with you, stands with you and will do everything possible to help you recover," Biden said.

This is an update. Get the rest here:

This photo provided by County of Maui shows fire and smoke filling the sky from wildfires on the intersection at Hokiokio Place and Lahaina Bypass in Maui, Hawaii on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. (Zeke Kalua/County of Maui via AP)

People watch as smoke and flames fill the air from raging wildfires on Front Street in downtown Lahaina, Maui on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. (Alan Dickar via AP)

The hall of historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission are engulfed in flames along Wainee Street on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Matthew Thayer/The Maui News via AP)

Wildfire wreckage is seen Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Wildfire wreckage is seen Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

A wasteland of burned out homes and obliterated communities is left on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii, following a stubborn blaze. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Summer Gerlingpicks up her piggy bank found in the rubble of her home following the wildfire Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Wildfire wreckage is shown Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

A burnt coconut tree is seen, Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Myrna Ah Hee reacts as she waits in front of an evacuation center at the War Memorial Gymnasium, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Wailuku, Hawaii. The Ah Hees were there because they were looking for her husband's brother. Their own home in Lahaina was spared, but the homes of many of their relatives were destroyed by wildfires. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

People gather at the Kahului Airport while waiting for flights Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023, in Kahului, Hawaii. Several thousand Hawaii residents raced to escape homes on Maui as the Lahaina fire swept across the island, killing multiple people and burning parts of a centuries-old town. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

An owl sits in a burnt tree, Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Wildfire wreckage is shown Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Members of a search-and-rescue team walk along a street, Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii, following heavy damage caused by wildfire. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

A man reacts as he sits on the Lahaina historic banyan tree damaged by a wildfire on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

In this photo released by the County of Maui, Mayor Richard Bissen and other officials view the fire damaged Banyan Court in Lahaina, Hawaii, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023. (County of Maui via AP)

Burnt boats sit in waters off of Lahaina, Hawaii, on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Wildfire devastation is seen outside the city Lahaina, Hawaii, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

A banyan tree rises among the Wildfire wreckage, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. For 150 years, the colossal tree shaded community events, including art fairs. It shaded townsfolk and tourists alike from the Hawaiian sun, befitting for a place once called "Lele," the Hawaiian word for "relentless sun." Like the town itself, its very survival is now in question, its limbs scorched by a devastating fire that has wiped away generations of history. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Women hug after digging through rubble of a home destroyed by a wildfire on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

A member of the search and rescue team walks with her cadaver dog near Front Street on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii, following heavy damage caused by wildfires. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

A man walks through wildfire wreckage Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

People walk along Main Street past wildfire damage on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

A boy rides along Main Street past wildfire damage on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Wildfire wreckage is shown Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

A burnt statue sits amid the rubble of a home, Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

A man and dog ride along Main Street past wildfire damage, Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

A woman digs through rubble of a home destroyed by a wildfire on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Melted beer bottles are shown in the back of a burnt out truck following the wildfires Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

A group of volunteers who sailed from Maalaea Bay, Maui, form an assembly line on Kaanapali Beach on Saturday Aug. 12, 2023, to unload donations from a boat. Maui residents have come together to donate water, food and other essential supplies to people on the western side of the island after a deadly fire destroyed hundreds of homes and left scores of people homeless. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Thomas Leonard lies on an air mattress at an evacuation center at the War Memorial Gymnasium after his Lahaina apartment burned down, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Wailuku, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

JP Mayoga, right, a chef at the Westin Maui, Kaanapali, and his wife, Makalea Ahhee, hug on their balcony at the hotel and resort, Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023, near Lahaina, Hawaii. About 200 employees are living there with their families. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Sydney Carney walks through her home, which was destroyed by a wildfire, Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Wildfire wreckage is seen Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The search of the wildfire wreckage on the Hawaiian island of Maui on Thursday revealed a wasteland of burned out homes and obliterated communities as firefighters battled the deadliest blaze in the U.S. in recent years. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Destroyed homes and cars are shown, Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Wildfire wreckage is shown Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

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